Waiting For You
by ForeverinNeverlandXO
Summary: Jack Brewer was never one for the sappy love crap. Love just didn't exist in his book. He refused to believe in it and if by some chance it was real, he promised himself he would NEVER fall in love. That is until he meets Kim Crawford, the sheriff's stubborn, spontaneous, crazy, hell raising daughter. Hold on tight Jack, you're in for a wild ride...
1. Chapter 1 - Love Has No Name

**Hey everyone! So this is my first FanFic and I am so excited about it. I've had this idea buzzing around in my head for the longest time and I finally decided to just sit down and write. Although it is based on Kickin' It, some of the characters in this story I have changed and it will definitely be a lot different than what you all are probably used to. It actually reflects my life a little.**

**Anyways...**

**Summary: Jack Brewer was never one for the sappy love crap. Love just didn't exist in his book. He refused to believe in it and if by some chance it was real, he promised himself he would NEVER fall in love. That is until he meets Kim Crawford, the sheriff's stubborn, spontaneous, crazy, hell raising daughter. Hold on tight Jack, you're in for a wild ride...**

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**Chapter 1 - Love Has No Name**

**Jack's POV**

**[ Prologue ]**

Love. What a disgusting word. Such a terrible lie too. I would never understand why anyone ever believed in and fell for its stupid and meaningless definition. Soul mates, true love, being "meant for each other", all of it was a boat load of bullshit. None of it ever lasted. It was all lust and desire for companionship. I would know first hand.

Exhibit A, my parents. Brandi and Nathan Brewer, two people who were supposedly meant to be together forever. Yeah, sure. Enjoy the sex, get married, have two kids, then start fighting over the most ridiculous things like what to have for dinner and what to watch on TV. I've seen these two at each others throats because one forgot to take the trash out or someone forgot to make the bed. Yep, sounds like a real loving freaking relationship to me.

I've never had a girlfriend, never been on a date, and I never want to. Why? Because I've seen what believing in this fake crap does. It tears families apart, makes people do stupid things for someone who actually could really care less if you go jump off a bridge or not, and makes you vulnerable. I, Jackson Andrew Brewer, am anything but vulnerable. Weak is not something I know and will ever know. No girl will ever break this guy. I have a solution for everything.

If I get lonely? I'll get a dog. If I want sex? I'll do it with no strings attached.

But I'm only a junior in high school, and frankly I have no time for it anyways. I have karate, my friends, school, and now I have to play bodyguard to my fourteen year old sister who has suddenly developed an interest in crop tops and lip gloss. So my mind is too busy to be corrupted by good looks and my raging teenage hormones. I have no need for a girl in my life. I have no need for a relationship.

I will never fall in love. Ever.

**[ Seaford, California. October 15th, 2012. ]**

"No dude, no way. Donna Tobin is _way _hotter than Kelsey Vargas." Jerry argued. Eddie slammed his hand down on the table they were all sitting at in Falafel Phil's.

"No way! Donna is fake! Kelsey is real." Eddie protested. I rolled my eyes at my two bickering friends. They had been at it for twenty minutes, debating on who the better looking girl was at Seaford High. I had actually done a fairly good job at tuning them out before they demanded for my opinion. I simply shrugged my shoulders and responded with a firm "neither". It may have been a strange concept to the others, but to me it was true. Every girl I had met at Seaford High were all fake in my opinion. I hadn't seen one that still had their natural colored hair or non designer clothing. They were all mean, self centered, spoiled bitches who made it a hobby to back stab each other for the top spot on the pep squad or to gain the attention of the guy they liked. It was all unattractive to me.

"Oh please, Kelsey is faker than Pamela Andersen's boob job!" Jerry shouted. Eddie was about to yell back until I threw my hands up and groaned.

"Will you two give it a rest already? Neither one of them are hot! Ok? They're both fake as Barbie and neither one of them has the respect to date you. So drop it!" I scooted out of the booth and marched out of the restaurant. I walked across the mall over to the Bobby Wasabi dojo. All I wanted to do at this point was hit a few dummies to let my frustration out. Why my friends had to be so obsessed about girls and make it a main priority of theirs to fight about something so stupid angered me. Whatever happened to 'bros before hoes'? Apparently that had lost all of its meaning when a girl actually got involved.

I began beating one of the dummies senseless. I punched and kicked with all my strength. If it had been a real person I was hitting, that person would either be out cold by now or really bruised and bloody. I stopped once I was out of breath and held myself up by leaning on the dummy. Now I was extremely exhausted and actual practice was going to be twice as hard to keep up with.

"Do we really piss you off that much?" I heard Eddie ask. I quickly looked over at the front doors and saw both Eddie and Jerry standing there eying me cautiously. I sighed.

"No. Look you guys, I'm sorry I blew up. You know how much I hate all that crap about who's hotter than who and my parent's divorce is just getting worse. It just gets to me." I said. I walked over to the bench and grabbed a white towel, wiping all the sweat off my face. Eddie walked over and gave me a sympathetic look.

"So it's actually happening? They're divorcing?" He questioned. I nodded as I threw the towel into the basket for dirty gis and other laundry. He placed his hand on my shoulder and squeezed gently.

"I'm sorry man, that's rough." He apologized. I waved it off like it was nothing.

"Nah man, it's all cool. Them divorcing is probably better for everyone. They'll be happier not fighting and I'm sure Rachel will feel better about being home." I replied. I walked over to my locker and pulled out my practice gi. Jerry came over to his and did the same.

"Hey man, my parents are divorced too. You just gotta look on the bright side. Two Christmases, Thanksgivings, birthdays. It all has a positive side to it." He tried reassuring me.

"Yeah Jerry, cause I'm sure that's what Jack cares about." Eddie agreed sarcastically. Jerry smirked.

"Just sayin' man. It could be better if you let it." Jerry gave me a pat on the back before heading to the changing rooms.

"Hey, where's Milton?" Eddie asked now noticing that Milton was absent.

"I think he said something about having to show a new kid around?" I replied unsure. Truth being, I wasn't really listening when he told me where he was going to be. Milton had a habit of spurting off random facts and sometimes listening to how intelligent he was just gave me a headache, so I learned to tune him out.

"Figures. He is the principal's favorite student after all. Him and that massive brain of his." Eddie teased. I laughed.

"Whoooo! Let's get this shizz going people!" Jerry shouted as he jogged into the middle of the practice mats and started break dancing. We stood there and watched him, completely amused by his crazy antics. Soon Rudy came barging into the dojo looking more flustered than usual.

"Stupid Ty and his stupid dojo! Practice is canceled!" Rudy yelled as he walked right past us and into his office making sure to slam the door shut behind him. Jerry immediately stopped dancing and we all exchanged worried and confused glances.

"Should we ask?" Jerry questioned as he came to stand by us. We stared at his office door for a minute before I decided to knock.

"What!" I heard Rudy shout angrily. I slowly opened the door and poked my head in.

"Uh, what's wrong Rudy?" I asked. Rudy motioned for us to come in. We filed into the room and all sat down on the couch across from his desk.

"Ty has decided that I am not a real sensei and he has requested a tournament in two weeks to determine if I am worthy of training you and anyone else in this dojo." Rudy slammed both his fists onto his desk. We flinched at how angry he was. Rudy never got mad, at least not this mad, unless it was something serious.

"But you're a third degree black belt! You passed the test to become a sensei. How are you not a real one?" Eddie exclaimed. Rudy shook his head.

"We haven't had a tournament since Jack moved here, so they haven't seen him do anything. All they remember is we've lost every one before. Ty says that if a sensei can't get his students to pull together and win at least one event, then he's not a sensei at all. My job is on the line now." Rudy looked down at the desk sadly. We looked at each other.

"Then we'll win Rudy. If it's what we have to do then we'll do it." I said encouragingly. Rudy lifted his head and smiled.

"That's great you guys, but there's just one small problem. We need at least five members. We're short one." He sighed. Jerry snapped his fingers together.

"Rudy, you're going to love me! I have a great plan!" Jerry announced excitedly. We all looked at him expectantly.

"We get another member! Whooo!" He cheered. Our smiles faltered. Did I ever mention that Jerry is probably one of the biggest morons in the world? Eddie slapped the back of Jerry's head.

"Thank you Captain Obvious because we didn't already know that." Rudy glared at Jerry. Jerry shrunk back down into the couch.

"We'll get someone Rudy. We promise. But we can't cancel practice. We have to work harder than ever now." I said. They guys nodded in agreement. Rudy clapped his hands together.

"Then we need to get going! Get to it!" He ordered. We all ran back out to the mats pumped. The Black Dragons and their sensei Ty were our biggest rivals. We both shared the mall for the location of our dojos and we were both from Seaford, California. When I first moved here, Ty tried to recruit me after he found out I was a black belt and beat up his best student, Frank. I turned him down though, deciding on the Bobby Wasabi dojo because of the guys and Rudy. The Black Dragons were built on lies and cheating, while the Wasabi Warriors were built on integrity and honesty. I was prepared to take down the Black Dragons at all costs. I would work out until I passed out from exhaustion. I was beat on dummies until my knuckles bled. I would not allow Rudy to lose his job.

Eddie, Jerry and I practiced for three hours straight. We sparred, demolished the practice dummies, and went over our kicks and punches until every move was burned into our brains. Rudy was happy to see us working so hard, but also worried about one of his students missing such an important practice.

"You know I could call Milton and tell him it's an emergency." Eddie suggested. Rudy shook his head.

"Nah. We're done for today anyways. You guys were awesome. Just remember to keep a lookout for another member. See you guys tomorrow." Rudy waved bye to us before going back into his office. We all changed back into our regular clothes and headed back over to Falafel Phil's for a snack before heading home.

"Well guys, I better get home. I'll see you tomorrow." I said as I finished off my last Falafel ball. I stood up from the booth and handed the guys a five dollar bill to cover my meal. They waved at me as I walked out of Phil's and headed home.

This was the part of my day that I hated the most. Going home. It was always the same when I walked through the door. My parents were always fighting about something, no matter how irrational and small it was. My sister was usually home too, which made me even more pissed at my parents. You would think that they would at least control themselves and keep their pathetic issues between each other while their kids were home. I hated the fighting, but it was taking a bigger toll on my sister.

Rachel was only fourteen. She was a sweet girl too, or at least was a sweet girl, until she picked up a big attitude last summer. She was slowly becoming a younger version of Donna Tobin with her midriff baring shirts and her short little mini skirts. I wanted to smack her half the time she was around, but at the same time I couldn't help but love her because it was obvious she was lacking it from our parents.

I finally reached my house and of course the first thing I could hear walking up to the front door was a mixture of yelling and things breaking. My mother had a habit of smashing things when she was angry. I opened the front door and slammed it shut. I stood there for a minute waiting to hear a huge lecture on slamming the door like I usually got, but my parents were in a much more heated argument than usual. They hadn't taken any notice of my presence.

"I am not giving you full custody of my children!" My dad yelled. My mother pointed her finger at him and gave him a threatening glare.

"Yes you will! I will not have you stealing my kids on holidays! I am their mother and I have every right to have full custody of them!" She screamed. I shook my head. Unbelievable.

"I'm their father! I have rights too! How can you act like I had no part in their conception!" My dad threw his arms up. My mother took a plate off the counter and threw it on the ground, shattering it into a dozen pieces.

"You didn't carry them for nine months!"

"It takes two!"

I had enough. I stalked past them making sure to stomp my feet to make my presence known. They didn't notice. I ran up the stairs and went straight to my room, locking the door behind me. I turned on my stereo and turned the volume all the way up. Van Halen was currently playing.

I flopped down on my bed and shut my eyes. I tried to imagine what it would be like without the fighting. It's pretty horrible when you can't even remember the last time your family had a peaceful night at home. I felt my phone vibrate next to me. I unlocked it and read the new text message.

**Rachel - Come here.**

Now she's demanding me to come to her? Her room is right next to mine and she's too much of a princess to walk three feet over. I groaned as I pushed myself off my bed and threw my phone back onto my pillow. I turned my music down before unlocking my door and walking over to my sister's.

"Open the door lazy ass." I said through the closed door. Five seconds later Rachel opened the door and pulled me in quickly.

"Whoa. Where's the fire? Damn." I rubbed my arm where she had grabbed me. I looked over at her. She had her sweatshirt on with her hood up. She had a strange look of both terror and joy plastered across her face.

"What did you do?" I asked knowing perfectly that that face of hers had been up to something. She smiled as she pulled her hood down. My eyes widened in horror. Our entire family are brunettes, and when I say brunette I mean dark ass brown. So the fact that my sister's long, usually dark hair is now blonde, made my heart almost stop.

"Are you insane!?" I shouted. I stared at her in complete shock. It was like she took a dozen bottles of bleach and poured it all over herself. She giggled.

"Calm down bro. I think it looks good." She said turning to look at herself in the mirror.

"Are you kidding? You look like Malibu Barbie. Do mom and dad know?" I asked. I already knew the answer though, and by the way her face suddenly darkened and her smile fell, I didn't even have to hear it.

"No. But it's not like they'll notice. They're too busy trying to kill each other to pay attention to anything I do." She replied stroking her new hair. I ran my fingers through my hair.

"We have to get your hair back to brown before they notice." I said. She quickly turned around to face me and glared.

"No! I like it! I'm not going to change it just because they wouldn't!" She yelled.

"You did this for their attention, didn't you?" I questioned knowingly. Her gaze fell to the floor.

"They forgot." She whispered.

"Forgot what?" I asked. She looked back up at me, sadness clearly evident in her eyes.

"My dance recital." She answered. I walked over to her and hugged her. This was the third recital they had forgotten, and last time they had promised to be at the next one.

"I just want them to stop." She mumbled into my chest. I stroked her hair and rested my chin on the top of her head.

"I know." I said. She pulled back.

"They're married. They're supposed to be in love. Divorce is never supposed to happen if you truly love the person. Why is this happening?" She looked up at me waiting for me to answer. I was stuck. I didn't even know how to answer. As much as I hated the idea of love, I didn't want to put into my sister's head that it wasn't real and ruin her fantasy of happily ever after. She was too young for that. She'd find out on her own someday. But someday wasn't now.

"Rach, I honestly don't know. I guess they thought they were in love before, but they're just not meant to last forever. They're purpose together was to have us, not to stay together."

"I guess." She hugged me again before breaking away and walking over to her bed. She sat down and gazed out her window.

"Looks like someone's finally moving into the old Madison house." She said. I walked over to where she was sitting and followed her gaze to the house next door. There were two moving vans parked out front and a group of men were carrying pieces of furniture in. It had been years since anyone had lived in the house next to ours. A white Ford Explorer then pulled up and stopped in the driveway. A man stepped out of the driver's seat dressed in a red flannel and a pair of old blue jeans. He stopped to look up at the house for a minute with a smile but then proceeded to walk over to the men who were moving boxes in. The passenger's door then opened and a small blonde girl jumped out. She slammed the car door shut and walked around to the other side, opening the back passenger's door open and hastily grabbing a brown over sized leather bag out. She placed the strap over her shoulder before finally looking up at the house like the man had done. Except she didn't wear a smile. I could tell she wasn't particularly happy.

"Well she's cute." Rachel said. I rolled my eyes.

"What? It's true. You should introduce yourself." She nudged me. I nudged her back.

"No." I replied. I got up from the bed and began walking over to the door.

"Oh come on Jack! What if she was like your one true love? Do you really want to miss out on an opportunity like that? Just ask for her name." She whined.

"She's not Rachel, trust me. Goodnight twerp." I walked out and shut the door behind me. I went back into my room and turned the stereo back on.

_What if she was like your one true love? Do you really want to miss out on an opportunity like that?_

I shook my head as my sister's voice interrupted my thoughts. If only she knew. That girl was not my one true love, nobody was. I wasn't missing out on any opportunity. It didn't matter what her name was.

Love had no name.

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**And there you have it. First chapter. I know, pretty slow, but I promise this story is way more interesting than it sounds. Just review and keep looking for updates :)**


	2. Chapter 2 - Kim Crawford

**Wow, I honestly am so amazed with how many reviews I got so fast that I couldn't help but update! Eeeek! Love you guys!**

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**Chapter 2 - Kim Crawford**

**Jack's POV**

_Shot through the heart and you're to blame, darling you give love a bad name. I play my part and you play your game. You give love a bad name!_

I groaned as my alarm clock went off, Bon Jovi blaring through my room. I rolled over and slammed my fist down onto the clock immediately shutting it up. I glanced at the time, 6:45 a.m. Why did school have to start so freaking early? I buried my face into my pillow and closed my eyes hoping to rest for another ten minutes. But of course that was never possible in the Brewer household.

"Jackson Brewer! Rise and shine sleepy head!" My sister shouted as she barged into my room and jumped on top of me. I took my pillow and smacked her across the face with it.

"Well someone's a little grumpy." She teased as she took the same pillow and started whacking me with it. I grabbed the other end of it and attempted to tug it away from her. She held onto it with a tight grip, repeatedly trying to kick me as she yanked it back. As weird as this would seem to others, it was actually a morning routine for us.

After a few minutes we finally decided to let go of the pillow and get up. Rachel skipped over to my computer desk and grabbed my iPod touch.

"Uh, what are you doing?" I asked her as she began walking off. She turned back around with her arms crossed.

"Hooking your iPod up to the iHome in the bathroom, duh. You know I like to get ready with music." She stated. I glared at her.

"Why can't you use yours?" I asked as I tried to snatch it away from her. She was quick though and after having a dozen of the same fights, she knew my every move and how to dodge them.

"I broke it. Come on Jack, music gets me pumped. I have to look cute and I need your iPod to do that." She said. I finally gave up but after taking a real good look at her, I smirked. She was wearing baggy sweatpants, an over-sized t-shirt and her messy, now bleached hair, was sticking up in every direction. She was much paler without makeup on too and this made her an easy target.

"Ew. You're right. You need it. Go put your face on please before you give me nightmares later." I teased. Her eyes narrowed before she sent a fist into my shoulder. I laughed as I rubbed where she had hit me. She huffed before leaving and walking towards the bathroom. She made sure to slam the bathroom door closed, just to be a little more dramatic.

I walked over to my closet and pulled a plain white tee off its hanger, slipping it on over my bare chest. I dug through a pile of clean clothes that I was too lazy to put away and found my dark washed jeans at the bottom. I put them on and paired them with my black Vans. I made sure to put deodorant on and ran my fingers through my unruly brown hair. I looked in the mirror to make sure I looked at least a little presentable and then jogged down the stairs to the kitchen. My parents were already at work so I was able to eat my breakfast in peace. Well, until Rachel came down that is.

"What do you think!" I heard Rachel shout as she jumped around the corner, attempting to pose like a model. I almost choked on my apple. My fourteen year old sister was dressed in a short denim mini skirt, a white off the shoulder crop top, and a pair of high wedges. Her blonde hair had been straightened but teased at the roots, and was that red lipstick she was wearing?

"There is no freaking way I am letting you leave the house like that." I said as I tossed the remains of my eaten apple into the trash can. She put her arms down and sighed in frustration.

"Why not? I look hot." She whined.

"One, you're my sister. Two, you're fourteen. You don't need to look hot. Now go change." I demanded, pushing her towards the stairs. She rooted her feet to the ground and spun around glaring at me.

"No! I'm wearing this." She stomped her foot.

"Really? Are you five?" I asked, clearly annoyed. She shrugged.

"If it helps me get my way." She responded. I shook my head at her. She was getting harder to handle everyday.

"Whatever. I give up." I walked over to the front door and picked up my backpack that I had thrown off to the side. I didn't even bother giving Rachel another glance before I left the house and began walking to school. She had friends. She could walk with one of them.

I pulled out my phone and the matching headphones. I shoved the buds into my ears and slid the volume button all the way up. Soon the lyrics of a Led Zeppelin song began to play, putting me in my own little world. I continued to walk to school, bobbing my head to the music. Old rock like this sure had a calming effect on me. It was like almost nothing could get me down while I was rocking out in my head to some of these older bands like Zeppelin and Halen. _Almost _nothing_. _There was still one thing that could. And that _thing _just happened to be walking my way. I rolled my eyes as Donna Tobin came into my view, smiling and waving frantically at me like she was directing an airplane for landing. I pulled out my earphones and stuffed them into my pocket.

"Hi Jackie!" She greeted me excitedly as she stepped in front of me. I literally had to look up at her because her six inch heels made her taller than me.

"Hi Donna." I replied blankly as I walked around her. She struggled to keep up with me and it took all my strength not to laugh at how ridiculous she looked.

"So Jackie, I was thinking. The Halloween dance is coming up soon and I think it'd be totes cool if we went together!" She exclaimed.

"No thanks." I rejected her not so kindly. Her smile faltered for a second but it was back as fast as it left.

"Oh Jackie, you're such a prankster. So what kind of costumes should we get?" She asked like she hadn't heard a word I said before. I stopped walking and turned to face her. This girl did not take subtle hints very well.

"Donna, I'm not going to the dance with you. I don't ever want to go out with you. Stop wasting your time and mine and go ask someone who actually likes you? Ok?" I walked away quickly, not giving her any time to respond. I threw a quick glance over my shoulder and saw she was frozen in place, her overly perky smile now a huge frown. I snorted a little. Maybe she was smart enough to get it when it was said directly to her face.

"Jack! Guess what!" Eddie suddenly popped up in front of me making me come to a stop. He looked over joyed.

"What?" I asked curiously.

"I'm going to the dance with Kelsey!" He cheered. I smiled at his random and embarrassing happy dance.

"Good for you man." I congratulated him. We walked into the school and made our way over to Jerry's locker where Jerry and Milton waited.

"What's up man?" Jerry greeted as he pulled me in for a bro hug. We parted and I gazed over at Milton who was looking around, searching the crowded hallways for something.

"Looking for something Milton?" Eddie asked noticing it too.

"Oh just the new girl. I'm supposed to show her around." He answered.

"Didn't you show someone around yesterday?" I questioned. He shook his head.

"No, I was tutoring. I told you that Jack. I swear, don't you ever listen?"

I chuckled nervously and rubbed the back of my neck. He was just about to say something before I was suddenly pushed, causing me to lose my balance and fall in towards the guys. Luckily Jerry and Eddie caught me.

"Could you look where you're standing next time?" Someone said from behind me. I spun around angrily ready to give a good ass whooping to whatever asshole decided to shove me, but I stopped when I came face to face with a girl. The same girl that had moved in next door to be to be exact. She stood there with her hands on her hips and glared up at me.

"Why don't you look where you're walking?" I spat back.

"You were in the way." She replied with a strong southern accent. She sneered at me before walking past me, bumping my shoulder with hers as she did. I quickly turned in the direction she was headed and ran to catch up, stopping in front of her.

"Whoa, whoa. Hold up. You don't just run into me and not even apologize." I said. She crossed her arms and rolled her eyes at me.

"You're annoying me. Stop being a big baby and go back to your little friends." She tried sidestepping to get around me but I blocked her again.

"Not until you apologize. So just stop wasting our time and do it." I commanded.

"Oh please. Like I'm going to do what you tell me to." She chuckled. I was getting impatient now and I was ready to blow up, but Milton decided to intervene and slid himself in between us.

"Uh, I don't mean to interrupt, but is your name Kim Crawford by some chance?" He asked her cautiously. She looked him up and down.

"Who wants to know?" She asked. Milton smiled and held out his hand.

"I'm Milton Krupnick. I'm your student guide. I'm here to show you around." He introduced himself. The girl, now identified as Kim, rose an eyebrow at him as she looked down at his outstretched hand.

"Alright dork, I'll follow you around." She sighed as she unwillingly shook his hand. I was amazed how one person could be so rude, but of course Milton was satisfied with her response.

"Great. Oh and my friend here is Jack by the way." He said pointing to me. Kim looked bored. She shrugged.

"Can we go now? I need my schedule." She asked. Milton looked up at me awkwardly. My frustration was clearly describable on my face. This girl was seriously hitting a nerve.

"Uh sure. Come on. See you guys at lunch." Milton waved to us as he and blondie walked away in the direction of the office. Jerry and Eddie walked over to me, Jerry laughing loudly and Eddie trying to suppress his.

"What are you two laughing at?" I groaned. They exchanged amused glances before laughing again.

"Man, I've never seen a girl give you that kind of attitude before." Jerry said. Eddie nodded in agreement. I shook my head annoyed as I pushed my way through the crowded hallway to get to my locker.

"Whatever. Better than drooling over me twenty four seven I guess." I replied as I opened my locker and grabbed my history textbook. I slammed it shut.

"For a guy that hates when girls hit on him all the time, you sure seem to hate the fact that Kim wasn't interested." Eddie stated.

"Your point?" I asked impatiently. He shrugged.

"Maybe you like her." He accused. I gawked at him.

"Me? Like her? Are you joking? I just met the girl and as far as I can tell, she has a major attitude problem. She was rude. How am I supposed to be attracted to that?"

Just as Jerry was about to respond the warning bell signaled, telling us all to get to class. I wasn't in the mood to hear the guys' ridiculous theory on how I "liked" Kim, so I walked away without hearing another word.

Whoever this Kim Crawford was, I could already tell that she was definitely not the kind of girl I would ever want to date, if I was even into dating in the first place. For one she was rude. What kind of person bumps into another one that's just standing there and then acts like it was their fault and doesn't even apologize? Second of all, she was a pain in the ass with how damn stubborn she was. Is it really that difficult to just say sorry? And third, her attitude was worse than Donna Tobin's. Kim Crawford, a big no.

I walked into history class right as the bell rang and made a beeline for my seat. I dropped my backpack on the floor next to my table and sat down, quickly opening my textbook to last night's homework so that I could finish before turning it in. I scanned the page looking for how many answers I needed to finish then leaned over to get a pencil. I scrambled through my backpack frantically but I couldn't find one. Crap. How was I supposed to finish now?

"Here. Looks like you're going to have a heart attack." Someone said as they set a regular number two pencil on my desk. I stopped immediately, recognizing that southern twang from anywhere, considering there was only one person with that accent in this entire school. I looked up slowly to the seat next to me only to come face to face with the annoying offensive blonde from earlier.

Kim Crawford.

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**There you go. Kim is now officially in the story. I know she seems really rude and insensitive, but I promise she's not a bitch. At least not the entire time haha.**

**Show me some love. Review :)**


	3. Chapter 3 - The Sheriff's Daughter

**Hey y'all, I am so glad you guys like the characters. I was nervous about how you guys would react to Kim and her attitude. But thanks for the reviews!**

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**Chapter 3 - The Sheriff's Daughter**

**Jack's POV**

There were two things I was absolutely sure of. One, God hated me. And two, Kim Crawford was his way of driving me insane. Literally. I had sat next to the girl for ten minutes and I was already debating on whether or not to kill her. I can't even begin to explain how many times the psycho switched her moods within that short period of time.

First, she hands me a pencil because she thinks I need it. An act of kindness right? Well, that's what I thought before she decided to chuck it across the room. Apparently I wasn't grateful enough. What was I supposed to do? Buy her a bouquet of flowers for loaning me a damn writing utensil? And if that wasn't enough, she then apologizes, gives me another and then proceeds to throw that one too.

"What? Is a thank you too much to ask for?" She had angrily questioned. I just stared at her in disbelief. Was she freaking bipolar?

Oh and did I mention the best part of all of this? Mr. Humphrey, the damn bastard, had took it upon himself to partner me with the little loon. I can't even write one word with a pencil she loans me, how am I supposed to work on an entire project without glue being shoved down my throat or a flying marker being aimed at my head?

I was going to die. Seriously.

After one very long first period, I happily escaped the classroom and made a fast getaway from Kim. If I was being forced to work with her, I was going to keep my distance from her as much as possible. I wanted to keep my head.

I walked down the hallway to my locker to relieve myself of my history book and exchange it for my math and English. I had only been at school for an hour and I was already ready to go home.

"Hey dude." Eddie greeted me as he and Milton walked over.

"Hey. Wow Milton, I'm surprised you survived Kim." I chuckled as I shut my locker and shoved my books into my backpack. He looked at me confused.

"What are you talking about? Kim is a total sweetheart." He assured me. I stared at him like he had grown an extra head.

"Kim? A sweetheart? The girl was going to rip me a new one last period before the bell rang." I complained.

"Well what'd you do?" Eddie asked.

"I didn't do anything!" I yelled. Eddie and Milton smirked at each other.

"Mhmm." They hummed in unison. I rolled my eyes.

"Hey, where's Jerry?" I asked now noticing our missing Latino friend.

"With Kim." They replied together again. I caught sight of Jerry and Kim at the other end of the hallway standing by Kim's locker. Jerry was leaning against the wall while Kim shuffled through her stuff. She was smiling too which was totally throwing me off.

"Uh oh. Donna alert." Milton whispered as Donna and her little clones waltzed past us, over exaggerating their hip swaying. I watched as they made their way over to where Kim and Jerry were standing. Jerry's eyes widened as Donna tapped on Kim's shoulder. Kim turned around and gave Donna a quick once over before dismissing her and turning back to her locker. Everyone gasped. No one ignored Donna Tobin.

"Excuse me blondie, but when someone comes over to introduce themselves, especially someone like me, you acknowledge them." Donna sneered. Kim tilted her head back and sighed before facing Donna again.

"Ok, first of all my name is Kim, not blondie. Second of all, I don't care who you are and I don't need you to introduce yourself. So if you'll excuse me, I have somewhere to be." She said as she began to walk away. Donna stopped her though as she grabbed Kim's arm and pulled her back. Kim's jaw clenched. She glared down at Donna's manicured hand that still had a hold of her arm.

"Maybe I should rephrase my words, _Kim._ I'm Donna Tobin and if you know what's best for you, you'll never talk to me like that again." She spat as she stepped closer to Kim.

"Donna Tobin? What kind of name is that? And what are you going to do? Kick me with your stupid heels?" Kim laughed. A few people snickered, including myself. Donna shot dirty looks to everyone before bringing her hand back and aiming for Kim's face. Everyone braced themselves for one a famous Donna Tobin slap. But it never came. Kim had blocked herself by grabbing Donna's wrist and shoving her back. Donna's clones caught her before she fell back.

"How dare you! I could ruin you!" Donna screamed. Kim crossed her arms and stood her ground.

"Listen closely Donna. I'll talk to you however I want to. You don't control me and you're not the queen of this school. Try hitting me again and next time I'll just whoop your ass." Kim threatened. She slammed her locker door shut and pulled a very stunned Jerry along with her as she walked away.

"What are you all staring at? Look away!" Donna shouted at everyone in the hall before stomping her foot angrily and leaving in a hurry with her possy.

"Holy Christmas nuts! Did you see that?" Milton exclaimed. Eddie nodded his head, his mouth hanging wide open.

"That was...AMAZING!" He yelled. I had to agree. As much as Kim Crawford got on my nerves, she had amazed everyone by standing up to Donna Tobin. No one had ever done that before and I had to say, the girl had guts. I would never admit that to anyone though. There were a lot of things I would never admit about Kim. Like how pretty she actually was and how her eyes reminded me of hershey chocolate, my favorite kind of candy. Wow, get ahold of yourself Jack. You hate this girl. She's crazy, remember?

I immediately shook all of my recent thoughts about Kim out of my head and hurried off to my next period. I had Milton in this class and thank god for that, considering math was like my worst enemy. We took our seats in the back and paid close attention to the assignments our teacher, Mrs. Flemming, was giving us. She was not the teacher you wanted to piss off and besides, I needed a good grade. After she let us go on our own, Milton and I pushed our desks together to work on our homework. It was a lifesaver having such a brainiac as a best friend.

"Ok so since we're together now, we can work on the hardest page first so that I can help you." Milton said as he turned to the first page of our homework. I did the same and after looking down at the page and seeing a billion x's and y's mixed with three digit numbers, I was completely on board with Milton's plan.

"This is seriously going to melt my brain. Who comes up with this stuff?" I groaned as I reluctantly pulled out a notebook and a pencil. Milton laughed.

"Oh Jack, it's really not that hard. You just have to know all the steps to solving a problem. Solving one step at a time makes it so much easier. Here, like this." Milton began breaking a problem up into three parts. I was focusing on the part he was showing me when I got distracted by the sound of someone walking into the class. Milton and I both looked up along with the rest of the class to see Kim standing there at the door. Mrs. Flemming huffed as she took notice of the confused blonde as well.

"Can I help you?" She asked.

"Yeah, is this Mrs. Flemming's class? I'm new here and I got lost." She replied handing Mrs. Flemming her schedule.

"Well I guess since you're new here, Kimberly, I'll allow one tardy. But no more, understand? Just take the seat next to Grace and I'm sure she'll help you catch up." Mrs. Flemming instructed. Kim thanked her quickly and made her way over to the empty desk next to Grace. Grace smiled at her and made no hesitation to introduce herself.

"Great, she's in this class too? Am I seriously this unlucky?" I complained, throwing my pencil down dramatically.

"What's the big deal? She's over there with Grace for one and she's seriously not even that bad. You had one bad experience with her, Jack. Give it a rest." He said. He looked back down at his paper and began scribbling away. I glanced over at Kim again who seemed to be engaged in an entertaining conversation with Grace by the way she was laughing and smiling.

"What do you know about her anyways?" I questioned Milton. I suddenly found myself interested in knowing little Kimberly's background. Milton raised an eyebrow at me questionably.

"Why do you want to know?" He asked.

"Just curious." I shrugged. Milton shrugged too.

"Well she's from Tennessee. She's lived there all her life. Her and her dad just moved here because her dad got transferred. He's the new sheriff." Milton answered.

"Huh, well that explains the southern accent." I replied.

"Oh and apparently her boyfriend is some big time wrestling champ back in Tennessee. Apparently he's known state wide." He added.

"She has a boyfriend?"

"Yeah, why? Jealous?" Milton teased. I glared at him.

"No. I could careless who she's dating. I just find it interesting that a guy could tolerate her. She's so tempermental." I said. Milton smiled at me like he didn't believe a word I was saying. I had already told the guys a million times before I wasn't interested in having a girlfriend, and Kim Crawford was definitely no exception.

"Seriously dude. I don't care. I don't think she's girlfriend material at all." I informed him.

"You don't think any girl is girlfriend material." He pointed out.

"True. Anyways, lets just get back to this work ok?" I suggested. Milton agreed and began working out problems again. I attempted a few but the more I tried to do, the harder they seemed to get. Math sucked. I glanced up at the clock periodically. The minutes continued to go by slower and slower. My boredom was beginning to get to me because I soon found myself staring off into mid air, that is until Kim stood up to go sharpen her pencil and walked past my line of sight. For some reason I felt compelled to keep my eyes on her. It was like she had some gravitational pull going on. I watched as she sat there and tried to do her work. She had a habit of biting the end of her pencil when she was in thought and she constantly pushed a strand of her honey blonde hair behind her ear. It was somewhat entertaining to watch her, especially when she bit her lip or scrunched her nose when she couldn't figure something out. It was kind of cute. I was seriously starting to feel like a creeper and I realized that I had been staring at her for the past twenty minutes. I was ready to turn away and focus on something else but right as I was getting ready to, she looked up. Our eyes immediately locked and I could feel myself blushing, most likely from the embarrassment of being caught doing something so stalkerish. I was ready for a total melt down. I was expecting her to get up and slap me or throw something at me and tell me to stop looking at her, but that's not what she did at all. Instead, she smiled. Kimberly Crawford actually smiled at me. I looked down at the ground quickly. My cheeks were heating up and I began feeling this strange sensation in the pit of my stomach.

What in the world was I doing? I had met Kim only a few hours ago and those times that I had actually engaged in a conversation with her she had become the most psychotic person I had ever met. She threw a damn pencil, twice, and acted like she wanted to gut me just for not saying thank you. She was rude, temperamental, and quite aggressive. But I also couldn't ignore the fact that her smile was bright, her eyes were intoxicating, and she was just really, _really _pretty. Prettier than any girl I had ever seen actually. I honestly wanted to punch myself for sounding like such a moronic teenage boy, but her smile, her eyes, her quirky little habits all kept replaying over and over in my head. This was torture and definitely not a normal activity for me.

I hated relationships, I disliked commitment, and I refused to date. But I was beginning to realize something that I would never admit, ever, to anyone.

I, Jack Brewer, have a crush on Kim Crawford.

Shoot me now.

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**Yay! Finally! It took me two freaking days to write this! So glad I'm finally done. Phew.**

**Anyways, I worked really hard on this for you guys so I hope you enjoyed it. If you want the next chapter, there's only one thing you need to do.**

**Review and you shall recieve.**


	4. Chapter 4 - Curse You Kim Crawford

**Hi guys! So just a few things before I jump right into the story. **

**First of all I want to apologize for taking SO long to update. I was having a bit of writer's block, but everything is all good now.**

**Also, I just got a job and I start tomorrow so I'm not sure how long it will take me to update chapters, but I promise to try really hard to get them up fast.**

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**Chapter 3 - Curse You Kim Crawford**

I was tired of it. I was tired of it all. The yelling, the glass breaking, the millions of curse words being shouted throughout the house, and most of all their ignorance for their own children. My parents sucked. They hadn't even noticed Rachel's bleached hair, which I guess was both good and bad. Good because they would have killed her in a heartbeat, but bad because now she was only going to crave their attention even more. I couldn't even focus on my homework because all I could concentrate on was the profanity and insults my parents were throwing at each other right now. And they wonder why I'm doing so poorly in school.

I could have avoided coming home easily. I could have went to the dojo and practiced or even asked Kim to work on our project somewhere, but then Rachel would have been home alone and there was no way I was going to be able to face Kim. Not after she caught me staring at her like a total creep. But she did smile, so she couldn't have been that creeped out, right?

"Jack, I'm headed out. I'll be at Becky's." Rachel said as she walked past my room, not even bothering to say hi. That girl had gotten more and more oblivious to manners everyday. She never asked me anything anymore or even acknowledged me at school or home. I guess big brother didn't account for much these days.

I stretched my arms above my head and dropped my pencil onto my notebook before pushing away from my desk and getting up. I walked over to my bedroom door and slammed it shut. I was done listening to my parent's bullshit fight. It wasn't like I hadn't heard any of it before. I grabbed my laptop off my desk on my way over to my bed and turned it on as I leaned back onto my pillows.

I went to Facebook as soon as my computer loaded and logged in. Of course Donna and her stupid possy of barbies had to send me a million messages and leave a dozen photo comments.

**Donna Tobin commented on your photo - **_Damn Jackie, you been working out? ;)_

Oh gag me, seriously. Did she not understand anything? And I thought I made it perfectly clear this morning I wanted nothing to do with her. I quickly deleted the comment and scrolled down my newsfeed. Everything was seemingly lame, like always, until I stopped at a video someone had posted.

"**Donna Tobin Gets Owned In School Hallway"**

I silently laughed as I clicked on it and watched a recording of the show down between Kim and Donna earlier. Everyone was completely stunned. Kim was definitely something else, that was for sure. I chuckled as I read some of the comments.

**Jerry Martinez - **_I was right there for the whole thing yo! Kim is fierce._

**Milton Krupnick - **_How embarrassing for Donna..._

**Kelsey Vargas - **_Oh please, you're all losers. Kim is nothing compared to Donna. Donna could take her in a fight anytime, anywhere._

**Kim Crawford - **_Are you challenging me for Donna, Kelsey?_

Kim. She was starting to pop up everywhere. I clicked on Kim's profile and glanced at her picture. She was smiling at the camera while hugging a big tan colored horse with a white blonde mane. She looked happy. I definitely hadn't seen this kind of smile on Kim's face since she got here. I could easily guess that moving wasn't her idea. I looked at her info section. It didn't look like she changed anything. It still read that she attended Central High School and lived in Memphis Tennessee. I mean, I know Facebook isn't important, but it was a pretty good way to get to know people. Maybe I could understand why Kim was so argumentative and angry through hers.

I continued to browse a little. From what I could read on a private profile, she was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and her birthday was September 15th. She lived in Memphis though. She used to work at PacSun and she was currently in a relationship with a guy named Matt King. I tried not to be disappointed. There was absolutely no reason for me to be right? Kim was just another girl and I wasn't about to let her change my ways. I was happy single and drama free. She was cute, that was it.

Suddenly a chat bubble popped up in the corner of my screen.

**Kim Crawford - **If you're going to snoop and spy on me, might as well request me as a friend.

What? How in the world did she know I was looking at her Facebook? And I wasn't snooping or spying, was I? I was just curious. If anything it seemed like she was the one spying now since she seemed to know what I was doing.

**Kim Crawford - **Your window faces mine doof. I can see you looking at my profile. Turn around.

I looked back at my window and of course there she was. Kim stood at her window with her phone in one hand, waving at me with the other. She had a little smirk on her face like she had just caught me doing something embarrassing. Well, I guess this _was _kind of embarrassing. I sighed as I clicked to request her and then stood up and walked over to my window to open it. Kim opened hers as well.

"You seem to have a little interest in me Jackson." Kim teased. I rolled my eyes.

"Nope, no interest. Just wanted to see if I could figure out why you're so bitter." I replied. She shrugged her shoulders.

"The internet doesn't tell you everything." She said.

"Well it's not like you want to talk to me about anything, so I have no other option." I snapped. She glared at me.

"Jack, if you want to know something, then just ask. I might not like you but I have nothing to hide." She sneered.

"Oh really? Favorite color?" I asked.

"Blue."

"Singer?"

"Miranda Lambert."

"Animal?"

"Horse."

"Food?"

"Cheeseburger, no onions or lettuce."

"Movie?"

"The Hunger Games."

"Who's Matt King?"

"Obviously my boyfriend."

"What's your dad's name?"

"Kyle Crawford."

"What does he do?"

"He's the sheriff."

"What's your mom's name?"

"Charlene Crawford."

"Where is she? I haven't seen her around?"

"She's dead."

I shut my mouth quickly. That, I hadn't expected and now I was regretting asking it. Kim didn't seem fazed though. She just stood there and continued to stare at me with a straight face.

"S-sorry." I stuttered.

"I think we've talked enough today. Goodnight Jack." She said. She closed her window and dropped her blinds. I sighed. I could be really insensitive sometimes.

I stood there for a minute in silence trying to think of a way to apologize. I wasn't too keen on apologies and I definitely hadn't given too many in my life. How was I supposed to tell Kim sorry? Just say it? Or would a bigger gesture please her? Oh who was I kidding, I wasn't that kind of person. I could never deliver a proper apology.

I groaned as I slammed my window shut and walked over to my bed, throwing myself on top of it and burying my face in a pillow. I was Jack Brewer. The guy who didn't give a damn about anyone, especially girls. I hated girls. I was supposed to stay away from them and now I was laying in bed trying to figure out a way to be nice to one.

_A really pretty one..._

No! I couldn't let my crazy teenage hormones get the best of me. Girls were trouble, no matter how they looked. Kim Crawford was not going to be an exception. Forget that.

But if I really felt that way, then how could one blonde, brown eyed girl make me so insane in such a short amount of time? No girl had ever had _that _much of an effect on me. Ever. Not even Donna Tobin and her stalkerish tendencies. What was it about this southern beauty that made me tick?

I rolled over to lay on my back and rubbed my hands through my hair as my mind continuously wondered to Kim. I quickly pushed her from my thoughts and closed my eyes trying to sleep and escape her irritating presence. I couldn't like her. I refused.

"Curse you Kim Crawford." I whispered.

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**Lame ending and really short chapter, I know. But I felt like I had to put something up for you guys for waiting so patiently. So think of this as just a filler chapter with a little background info.**


	5. Chapter 5 - I Am Waiting

**Loving the reviews and continued support guys. I'm trying really hard to get this shit up as fast as I can ha.**

**I'd also like you all to tell me which story you'd like to see next. These are just the rough summaries to give you an idea of what they'd be like. The choices are...**

**A) Kim develops a crush on the new guy who has everyone falling at his knees. He's popular, charming, cute, everything every girl wants and what every guy wants to be. Except Jack. Is it jealousy that feeds Jack's strong dislike of the guy, or does he see something no one else does?**

**B) Kim is the farmer's daughter and her family owns the biggest ranch on the outskirts of Seaford. Her southern charm and sweet disposition is popular among the guys yet she never dates. Jack is hired by Kim's father as their new ranch hand. He's known for being a little rough around the edges. Kim's father forbids Jack from falling in love with his daughter during his work term, but will Kim finally let down her guard and find love with the rugged ranch hand?**

**C) It's Kim's sweet sixteen and Jack is desperate to make it the best birthday ever. But will a few obstacles stand in his way of giving Kim the party she's always dreamed of?**

**So, you choose! The popular one will be written next :)**

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**Chapter 5 - I Am Waiting**

**Kim's POV**

I sat on the couch in the living room and lazily flipped through the channels on the tv. I already knew there wasn't going to be anything good on, but I had absolutely nothing else to do.

"Ok Kim, I have to go to work. Be good and try not to burn the house down." My dad said as he walked over to the front door and grabbed his jacket off the coat hanger. I turned away from the current episode of Full House to look over at him.

"You're leaving me alone again?" I asked.

"I'm one of the graveyard sheriff's Kim, you know this." He replied. I rolled my eyes and averted my attention back to the tv. A few seconds later I heard the front door open and close signaling my dad's departure. I shut the tv off and walked over to the window and watched my dad begin to pull out of the driveway. He had left the same time every night to go to work ever since we had arrived in Seaford two weeks ago. I'd be alone all night and I wouldn't see him until I got home from school. I'd spend maybe two hours with him before he would leave again. It was an irritating cycle, especially since it was just the two of us. I had to have at least one parent, right?

I sluggishly made my way up the stairs to my room and plopped down onto my bed. I reached over to my bedside table and pulled my phone off the charger.

**3 New Messages**

I unlocked my phone and opened my message inbox.

**Maggie - Kim! I miss you! What's been going on? You still haven't told me anything about California. Text me back girl.**

**Matt - Hey Kim, I really miss you. I'm sorry I haven't been able to talk to you that much these past few days. Football practice has been crazy and without my cute, adorable tutor, I've stressed about school. I know you said you hated it there but I think you should try to give it a chance. You know I'm always going to be here. Oh and I've talked to my dad about getting you down here for a weekend. Let me know what you think? I love you :)**

**Britt - Hey Kimberly! Just thought I'd let you know that Butterscotch is doing fine, but he definitely wishes you were here. He isn't riding the same. I'll give him lots of love for you though. He's an awesome horse by the way.**

I smiled. The little messages from home always brightened my mood up a little.

**To: Maggie**

**From: Kim**

**Hey Maggs. I miss you too! Nothing has really been going on. I mean I go to Seaford High now and it's alright I guess. I met a few nice people. This girl Grace really reminds me of you. She's a little ball of fire too haha. Oh and this guy Jerry, I think you'd really like him. I need to fly you here soon! Love you lots! XOXO.**

**To: Matt**

**From: Kim**

**Hey Matty! It's ok that you've been busy, I figured football would take over once I left. I'm sorry about your grades :( I wish I was there to help, trust me. I am trying! I just can't stand not being with you and Maggie! I miss Butterscotch too. Tennessee is my home, how am I supposed to make the best of this? PLEASE GET ME THERE! Tell your dad I love him! Oh and I love you too :]**

**To: Britt**

**From: Kim**

**Glad to hear he's doing ok. I wish he'd do better though. I'm trying to get down there for a few days. Maybe if he sees me he'll cheer up? He is amazing, thank you for taking care of him for me.**

After I finished typing my replies I plugged my phone back into the charger and got up to change into my pajamas. I walked over to my dresser and pulled out the top drawer and dug through the pile of clothes looking for my grey cheer shorts and my black Central High tank top. I took of the clothes I was wearing and slipped on the shorts and tank. I took a baby wipe and ran it over my face, taking off my old makeup. I finished getting ready for bed and then climbed under the blankets and grabbed the teddy bear that Matt had given me to snuggle with.

"Please just take me home." She quietly whispered to the bear and she closed her eyes and hugged it tighter.

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**Jack's POV**

I'm pretty sure my life was ending. There was no other explanation for why my dad was currently packing a suitcase and my mom was sitting on their bed covering her face with her hands trying to control her sobbing. I sat on the floor and leaned against the wall on the outside of their bedroom and listened in on their conversation.

"Brandi, please control yourself. The kids are here." My dad ordered as he stuffed a pile of shirts into his case.

"I-I can't. Please Nathan, pl-please st-stay." My mother begged. I closed my eyes and breathed deeply. How was this even happening? I knew they were thinking about divorce, but I never thought things would go this far. I thought they'd work it out eventually.

"I can't do this anymore. I can't fight with you all day. I'm tired of it. I need to leave. It's what's best for us and the kids. They'll understand."

"How? How will they understand? You're their father and you're walking out!" My mother was angry now. Her moods had always been unstable. One minute she could be completely happy, then the next she could be pissed. Right now I was expecting a complete emotional disaster.

"Oh would you relax! I am not walking out on my kids! I'm just moving out of this house. I'll have them visit me at the hotel for a while until I get a place of my own."

"And what about me? What about me Nathan? I'm your wife."

"Not everything is about you Brandi! I'm miserable, you're miserable. Our daughter bleached her damn hair because she wasn't getting any attention from us. You know it's bad when your kids do crap to get a reaction from you."

"So you're giving up? Just like that? I mean absolutely nothing now. Our vows mean nothing. You're a bastard!" The sound of a glass breaking against the wall snapped me out of my current daze and I got up quickly to walk away. I had enough. I couldn't stand to listen to this anymore.

I grabbed my sweatshirt off my bed and hastily ran down the stairs to the front door. I walked outside and slammed the door making sure they'd know that I had left. Maybe then they'd shut up.

The sun was beginning to set and the chilly air was causing goose bumps to develop up and down my arms. I pulled the sweatshirt over my head and slipped it on. I pulled my phone out and clicked to compose a quick message.

**To: Rachel**

**From: Jack**

**Stay at Sophie's. Mom and dad are fighting and it's bad. I'll tell you when to come home.**

I shook my head down at the message I had just sent to my sister. It was just ridiculous that I had to warn her not to go home because of our parents. What kind of life was that? Definitely not one I wanted to be living.

It's times like these that I'm reminded of why I hate love and refuse to fall into it. It breaks, it hurts, it ends. That's it. There's nothing worth that kind of crap. Nothing. No girl could ever mean that much. Not even Kim Crawford.

_Then why did you even bring her up? _

No. No more Kim. I don't like her and I never will. She's just another girl.

_If that was true then she wouldn't have even crossed your mind._

Shut up conscience! You have no idea what you're talking about. I don't like her!

_Face it Jack, you do like her. Just accept it. The sooner you accept it, the better things will turn out for you._

No. Get out of my head. I don't need you.

"Jack?"

I looked up from the ground to see Kim standing there with her hands shoved in the big pocket of her black hoodie. Her hair was covered by a grey beanie and the rest of her blonde waves cascaded down her shoulders.

"What are you doing out here in the cold?" She asked.

"I needed to go for a walk." I replied speaking in a monotone. She gazed at me with concern.

"Are you ok? You look like you've cried." She questioned curiously. I shrugged.

"I'm fine." I stated. She raised an eyebrow at me.

"You don't seem fine." She said. I rolled my eyes at her.

"What, are you a detective now?" I rudely mocked as I pushed past her and began walking away. Her footsteps soon followed.

"No need to be harsh. I was just concerned. Besides, if memory serves me right, you were the one asking questions about a week ago." She said as she tried matching my long stride.

"Just go home Kim." I demanded.

"I'd rather walk with you." She replied. I was irritated now. I stopped walking and spun around angrily.

"My parents are divorcing, ok? My parents are at home now fighting while my dad packs his shit because he's leaving and my mom can't take the hint to back the fuck off. And why is all this happening? Because love sucks. It doesn't exist. Are you happy now? You got what you wanted so you can leave me alone now!" I shouted. Kim stood completely still and gazed at me with a blank face. I began taking deep breaths and let my frustration slowly drain. After a few minutes of pure silence, Kim finally gave me a small sad smile.

"Feel better now?" She asked.

"I guess." I whispered.

"Come on." She commanded as she nodded her head towards a bench. I followed her as she sat down and patted the space next to her. I did as I was told, way too tired to argue.

"You know Jack, love does exist. I've seen it." She says. I shake my head at her.

"I don't want to hear about you and your boyfriend. You're sixteen. That's not going to convince me." I stated. She let out a small chuckle.

"I meant my parents." She informs me. I peek over at her from the corner of my eye but quickly look away again. Now was not the time to focus on Kim's obvious and irritating beauty.

"My parents met in high school and as soon as they graduated they got married. They had me a couple of years later and that's when my grandparents handed over their ranch to my dad. I was so blessed to have parents that really cared for each other. My dad used to bring home a bouquet of daisies for my mom at least three times a week. He tore down the old tool shed so that she could have her garden, even though it was pretty much his man cave. They rarely ever fought but when they did, it ended as fast as it started. They always told me to never go to bed angry. That it was bad for the soul. They were so loving of each other and you could tell that my dad adored my mom." Kim smiled as she told me the story of her parents. For the first time since meeting her, she appeared to be content and satisfied.

"Then my mom got sick. We found out she had cancer and it wasn't something she was going to be able to beat." Kim's voice was beginning to crack. I could see the tears forming in the corner of her eyes, threatening to spill. I grabbed her hand and squeezed it reassuringly.

"During those next few months my dad did everything with her. He took her dancing, to the movies, horseback riding, and they even renewed their vows. He held her hair back for her when she got sick, made sure she ate three meals a day, and helped her finish planting her garden. When she died, my dad broke to pieces. I thought he was going to stay depressed forever. He wouldn't leave his bed, he cried constantly, and he lost forty-five pounds because he refused to eat. I thought I was going to lose another parent. But then one day, he came into my room and hugged me and said that he loved my mom so much that he couldn't leave me. He had to take care of me and be there for me because that's what would have made her happy. So yes Jack, love does exist." She finally looked up from the ground and locked eyes with me. I stared intently into hers and noticed that the tears that were once there, were now gone. They had vanished like they had never even appeared.

"I guess you could be right." I finally said.

"I am right. Look Jack, I think your parents do love each other. Sometimes people just lose their way. There's nothing you can do about something that isn't your fault though. You just have to let them figure it out. They did once before, I'm sure they'll do it again." Kim patted my shoulder before pushing herself up from the bench and offering me her hand. I studied her hand for a second before deciding on grabbing it and standing up as well.

"I know you said you don't believe in love, but that's just because you haven't found her yet. You have to wait for that person, Jack. But I have to get home now. I'll see you around." She threw me a quick smile before dropping my hand at my side and walking away. I watched her leave and as I did I replayed her words over and over in my head.

_You have to wait for that person._

Kim's voice made me smile. Then I realized something as I looked at her one last time before she turned the corner.

"I am waiting. I'm waiting for you."

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**Ahhhh! I'm definitely not sure how I feel about this...but you can all help me decide. Review like crazy!**


	6. Chapter 6 - Kim Joins The Dojo

**Wow! I don't think I've had this many reviews in just one day! I'm so glad you all enjoy this story so much and just so you all know I do take your suggestions into consideration for the story. There are actually a few that I really liked so I may be contacting a couple of you to talk :)**

**I know a lot of you are concerned with how fast Jack seemed to fall for Kim, but remember guys, his parents are still fighting, Kim's still dating her boyfriend from Tennessee and he's a hormonal teenage boy who had constantly pushed back those kind of feelings before Kim. He's bound to develop strong feelings for the first girl he finally takes interest in. But the story is FAR from over. There will be a lot more substance to this plot and the characters.**

**So far it seems like story B and A are popular choices. I'll give it another chapter and then count your votes from there.**

**Anyways, ENJOY!**

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**Chapter 6 - Kim Joins The Dojo**

**Jack's POV**

I stood in the middle of the dojo and continued to punch and kick at the beat up dummy propped up in front of me. It felt like it was a hundred degrees in here with all the heat I was generating and I was dripping in sweat, but I couldn't stop. I was beyond frustrated and just straight furious.

I was losing everything that I cared most about. My dad had finally packed up all his stuff and left, so my family was now on the verge of falling apart, and the dojo was closing because I had been too preoccupied and couldn't find someone to join and compete. Rudy had continually told me not to blame myself but I couldn't help but feel like I had let myself get too involved in personal matters that I had no control over, causing me to neglect my real responsibilities.

"Yo dude, you're gonna break another one if you don't chill." Jerry stated as he stood on the corner of the mat watching me.

"Honestly Jerry, I don't really care right now." I replied throwing another punch to the dummy's head, knocking it off and sending it flying in Jerry's direction. Jerry screamed as he quickly ducked to avoid it.

"Chill the hell out dude before you kill somebody!" He shouted. I glared at him before moving onto the next dummy.

"Rudy! Tell Jack to relax before he damages the whole dojo!" Jerry exclaimed as our sensei walked out of his office, holding a box full of office supplies and movies.

"Jack, please calm down. I can still sell the equipment." Rudy said as he walked over to the front door and set the box down. He gazed around the dojo longingly and softly traced his finger along some of the trophies perched on a shelf. I could see the sadness in his eyes and the tears he was trying hard to push back. This was his life and he was losing it.

"Rudy, is there anyway we can stop this?" I asked him as I joined him in his mourning over the trophies. He sighed.

"I don't think so. The rules were set and we still don't have anyone to join. I couldn't ask the committee to do me a favor when I haven't done anything to even try to save this place." He dropped his hand to his side and put his head down as he slowly made his way back over to his office. Jerry and I exchanged sorrowful glances before looking over the list of things to do before closing.

Wash mats, box equipment, clean toilets, clean carpets...

I had no desire to do any of these things for something that wouldn't even be ours by the end of the week. But I promised Rudy and I couldn't let him down anymore than I already had.

"What's even going to happen to the dojo?" Jerry asked as he grabbed a mop and began dragging it lazily across the mats. I shrugged.

"I don't know. Someone will probably rent it out or it'll be renovated into a store." I answered.

"I just wish we could have done the one thing Rudy asked us to do. I mean how hard could it have been to find someone who was interested in or already knew karate?" He wondered.

"Actually Jer, not that hard at all." A female interrupted us. We both turned to face the visitor. Kim stood at the door smirking at us with her arms crossed.

"Kim! What are you doing here?" Jerry asked excitedly as he ran over to hug her.

"I came to join silly." She chuckled. Jerry quickly spun around, a huge grin plastered on his face.

"Yo dude, that's totally swag! Did you hear that? She came to join!" He shouted. I shook my head but smiled at Jerry's sudden boost of happiness.

"Why so excited Jer? Need someone actually worth a challenge?" Kim asked winking at me in a mocking way.

"I think he's just excited about having someone he'll be able to beat for once." I teased. She rolled her eyes but smiled.

"I'm going to tell Rudy!" Jerry announced as he dashed off towards Rudy's office. Kim laughed.

"Ok so seriously, why is he all amped up about this?" She asked.

"We desperately needed someone to join the dojo or it was going to be closed down. How well do you know karate?" I questioned. She shrugged as she walked over to one of the dummies and sent several consistent punches and kicks to its head and stomach. She turned around to face me and placed her hands on her hips and smiled at me proudly. I nodded in approval.

"Wow. Nice. You know what you're doing." I complimented. She smiled in return.

"So Jack, I've been meaning to talk to you." She began as she shuffled her feet nervously. I cocked an eyebrow at her sudden change in character.

"Yes?" I urged her to continue.

"Remember what I told you about my mom?" She asked. I nodded.

"Could you keep that to yourself? It's just not a whole lot of people know about that and I really don't want sympathy. I don't do well when others look at me with pity." She confessed.

"Of course Kim. Whatever you tell me is between us." I assured her. She looked at me with an expression of gratitude. We stood there for a minute in complete silence and just stared at each other.

"So you're Kimberly?" Rudy interrupted as he walked out of his office with an excited Jerry following close behind.

"Kim." She corrected him as she shook his hand.

"Well Kim, Jerry here tells me that you'd like to join the dojo. What do you know about karate?" Rudy asked as he examined Kim curiously.

"Well I started karate lessons when I was ten and I did it for about four years. I'm a black belt and my speciality is hand to hand combat." She answered. Jerry and I looked at each other in amazement. Kim was honestly the first girl we had ever met that was above a yellow belt.

"Really? A black belt in four years? That's amazing Kim!" I exclaimed. Kim smiled.

"Yeah, it just comes natural to me. Would you like me to demonstrate? I could spar you or Jerry?" She asked as she took off her shoes and made her way over to the mat. I looked over at Jerry and he shrugged. He took off his shoes as well and stood opposite of Kim. They bowed and quickly took fighting stances. Jerry was the first to make a move and sent a kick towards Kim stomach. Kim reacted immediately and knocked his leg away before sending a fist towards his chest. Jerry blocked as well. This went on for a good minute before Kim finally got the upper hand on Jerry and flipped him effortlessly over her shoulder. Jerry slowly pushed himself up into a sitting position and rubbed his back.

"Ay mamacita. Be careful, this is precious cargo you're throwing." He groaned. Kim giggled as she lent her hand to Jerry and lifted him back on his feet.

"Sorry Jerry. I forget my own strength sometimes." She said. I glanced over at Rudy who stood there with an impressed smirk plastered across his face.

"I think you'll do." He said as he walked over to Kim and shook her hand again.

"Alright yo! Welcome to the team girl!" Jerry shouted. He gave Kim a quick hug but released as soon as her hand lightly touched his sore back. Kim winced at Jerry's pain but continued to laugh.

"Great job Kim. You're definitely the living proof that girls are just as tough as guys." I complimented. A light red hue began to grow across her cheeks and she suddenly became very interested in her light pink socks.

"Thanks Jack." She thanked me quietly. I chuckled at her nervousness. It was cute.

_Wow Jack, shut the hell up. You're making a fool of yourself for just thinking that._

I instantly wanted to smack myself. There were several reasons why that was a bad thought to even let cross my mind. One, Kim had a boyfriend. Two, that was not who Jack Brewer was. And three, love does not exist so I should stop lusting over girls. It was bad for me.

"Well I'll go get your paperwork all filled out and then tomorrow when you come by after school I'll have you sign it and take the release form to your parents." Rudy said as he sent a soft pat to Kim's back and walked back into his office.

"I think I need ice." Jerry complained. He moaned in pain as he headed off to the locker room. Kim now looked worried.

"Maybe I shouldn't have flipped Jerry." She said.

"He'll be ok. No pain no gain." I responded. She smiled and bit her lip. She was getting nervous again.

"So...Jack. I was just wondering, since I'm new and I have no idea where anything is that you and I could maybe-"

The voice of Ed Sheeran interrupted Kim mid sentence. She rolled her eyes as she reached into her back pocket and took out her phone. Anything she was about to say was probably long forgotten by the huge grin that was now taking over her face.

"Uh, sorry Jack. I gotta get home." She said as she pulled her shoes back on and threw her bag over shoulder. She waved at me and then she was gone. I stood there and watched her run through the food court and out the front door. Whatever she was running to must have been something special.

My thoughts brought me back to reality as I remembered what Kim was beginning to say before her stupid phone stopped her. Was she going to ask me out? Was she hinting at me to ask her? Did I even want that? No. Of course I didn't. But then again Kim was my friend and she did help me before, so maybe getting to know her on a different level would have been nice.

_Oh my god Jack, you sound like one of those cheesy, hopeless romantic idiots off of those stupid chick flicks your sister always watches._

I rolled my eyes at myself. I was being a complete moron and it was driving me crazy. I needed to stop. Kim and I, never going to happen. Ever. End of story.

Suddenly my phone's buzzing snapped me out of my daze. I walked over to the bench and picked it up.

**Rachel - Get home now. It's mom.**

Great. Now what?

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**I know, I know. Shitty way to end the chapter but I was running out of ideas for this chapter. I promise the next one will be ten times better and up way faster than this one was.**

**Review though. Let me know what you think. Your comments are always helpful :)**


	7. Chapter 7 - Matt Comes To Seaford

**You guys are literally all so amazing. I just love when I check my email and I get like a dozen reviews. Your reviews make writing stories so much easier and a whole lot more fun, so thank you :)**

**Anyways, looks like story B won this contest, so that will be my next project! For everyone who voted otherwise, don't worry. All of the story ideas I gave you guys WILL be written. I just wanted to know which one most of you wanted to see first.**

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**Chapter 7 - Matt Comes To Seaford & Momma Brewer Gets A Lesson In Parenting**

**Kim's POV**

I was running as fast as I could. My green tank top was beginning to cling to my body, using my sweat as paste, but I had no time to stop and fix it. I had to get home. If the text I received from earlier in the dojo was true, I didn't want to waste another minute. I had to get there now.

I finally made it to my street and my legs began to give out as soon as my house came into view. My breathing quickened as I noticed the yellow cab parked out front, then the tall brunette boy that was hoisting a bag out of the back. I ignored the aching pain that was pulsing through my knees and put all the energy I had left and pushed myself to run a little faster for the last few feet.

"Matt!" I screamed at the top of my lungs, making the boy turn around. He immediately opened his arms and grinned ear to ear as I threw myself into his body. I snaked my arms around his neck and jumped up, grabbing onto his waist with my legs. I buried my head into his neck and sniffled back a few tears that were trying to escape their way out.

"Well hello to you too Kimmy." He laughed. I giggled but refused to release him from my grip.

"I can't believe you're here! I've missed you so much!" I cried. He rubbed my back softly and then pried my legs from his body and gently set me back on the sidewalk. I pouted a little but couldn't help but smile at his sweet face.

"Well I missed you too. That's why I'm here." He replied as he messed up my hair with his hand playfully. I slapped his hand away and hugged him again tightly. He quickly wrapped his arms around me in return. I breathed in deeply, taking in the aroma of alfalfa hay and oats. Mmm, the wonderful smell of Tennessee.

"I can tell you've been spending some time with Butterscotch. You smell like his feed." I chuckled as I let go and backed up so I could take in the incredible sight of my boyfriend. He shrugged.

"Well yeah. You said you were worried about him so I just went over there a few times so he could see a familiar face. I didn't bother to wash my sweatshirt because I knew you'd enjoy the smell." He said. He picked up his large duffel bag and handed the cab driver a ten dollar bill before taking my hand and pulling me towards the house. I eagerly followed knowing the sooner I got him situated, the sooner we'd get to catch up.

"I'm so glad you're here! I have so much to tell you and -" I froze completely. Matt noticed my hesitancy and followed my gaze over to the house next door. The Brewer's house. Jack's house. In the driveway was a police car and a red ambulance with its lights on. How had I not noticed it before?

"Oh yeah, your dad got called over there. He said he'd be back in a little while." Matt informed me. He pulled at my hand again but I couldn't find the urge to move my feet. There was no way they were there for Jack, right? I mean I had just left him at the dojo and he was completely fine. There was no way he would have beaten me home. But then, what if he had and they were there for him? Was Jack hurt? Was he sick? All these horrible thoughts of something bad happening to Jack made me feel a little nauseous. He was my friend after all. Even if it wasn't for Jack, it still meant something happened to someone in his family. Maybe his sister? I knew his parents were having problems, but I didn't think their problems were this bad.

"Kim? Hello, earth to Kimmy." Matt interrupted as he waved his hand in front of my face. I blinked a few times to regain my focus and managed to tear my eyes away from the scene and look up at him.

"Huh?" I asked stupidly. He looked concerned.

"Are you ok? I've been trying to talk to you for like a minute and you just keep staring over there." He asked worriedly. I nodded.

"Uh yeah, it's just that my friend lives there and I'm just a little worried that's all." I answered.

"Oh. Well I'm sure she's fine. I mean, they would be gone by now if it was urgent." He assured me.

"Actually she is a he, and yeah you're probably right. I'll just find out later." I said. I forced myself to ignore the terrible twisting feeling in the pit of my stomach and led Matt inside the house. Jack would tell me if something was serious. We were friends. I was sure of it.

"Wow, so this is the place?" Matt questioned as he checked out the spacious living room.

"Yep. This is home. I know, really big for just two people, but it had been abandoned for years so they gave us a really good price on it." I explained.

"It's awesome. You could throw some real ragers in here." He laughed as he jokingly started to fist pump. I stopped dead in my tracks and turned to face him.

"No Matt. No ragers. No parties. Nothing. I'm not doing that anymore. Not after last time." I warned. Matt threw his hands up in surrender.

"Ok, ok. I was just kidding. Kimmy's a good girl now. I forgot." He teased. I rolled my eyes.

"Come on, I'll show you your room." I said. He picked up his bag again and followed me upstairs. We passed my room and entered the guest room which were right next to each other. Matt quickly took notice.

"So, is this room the only guest room in the house or did you just happen to give me the one right next to yours for a reason?" He asked as he winked. He set his bag down on the bed and walked over to me, pulling me close to him and kissing my lips. I pulled away and sighed.

"It's the only other room. I didn't give you it for any special reason and you won't be sneaking over to my room either, got it?" I threatened. Matt smirked.

"Yeah, ok. We'll see. You know how you get Kim." He said.

"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked suddenly really annoyed by my boyfriend's arrogance. He had literally been here for five minutes and he as already talking about getting into my pants. He dropped his arms and stepped away.

"What is your problem Kim? You used to always enjoy our talks like this."

"Well people change Matt. Maybe I just want to have a normal conversation with you. I missed you, can't we just go on a real date and talk?"

Matt lost his smile real quick. It was painfully obvious that wasn't what he had in mind for our reunion. He wasn't being the same caring, respectful country boy from Tennessee. He was being someone else entirely and I wasn't sure I liked it.

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**Jack's POV**

I rushed home as fast as I could. Whatever my mom had done had been bad enough for the neighbors to get involved. I couldn't believe it when I saw the cop car and ambulance in my driveway. Things in our house had never gotten _that _bad.

Rachel met me outside and I could tell by her puffy, bloodshot eyes and her smeared eyeliner that things had taken a turn for the worst. Rachel _never _cried. If she did, you knew something was way wrong.

"Rach, what's going on?" I asked. I was completely freaking out now. She sniffled a little and wiped her eyes with the sleeve of her sweatshirt.

"Mom has lost it. I didn't know what else to do so I went next door and got Mr. Crawford." She sobbed. I gave her a small hug before jogging towards the front door where a cop was standing talking to Mr. Crawford.

"Excuse me? What happened to my mom?" I asked urgently. Mr. Crawford gave me a sad smile and moved to the side to let me into the house. I walked into the living room which was now covered in shattered glass, torn paper, and stuffing from the ripped pillows. I looked around for my mom and finally spotted her sitting in a chair in the kitchen with an EMT checking her vitals. Her long brunette hair was disheveled and strands of it were sticking to her wet face. Her makeup was completely smeared across her face and she appeared disoriented. I gulped back the bile that was slowly creeping up.

"Mom?" I whispered as I carefully walked closer to her and bent down to kneel in front of her.

"Mom, what's wrong?" I asked. She gazed down at me and I could see her pupils were three times larger than normal. I shook my head at her.

"Jackson, I-I-I didn't know what elses-s to do. I wa-want-ed to forget." She slurred. I could feel my eyes beginning to burn.

"She's four times the legal limit son. She downed an entire bottle of scotch and whiskey. Your sister came running over saying she had a melt down. She sent a good slap to your sister's face too. I really have no choice but to take her in, at least for the night. If you can contact your father to come get her in the morning, then I'll release her." Mr. Crawford said as he and the EMT helped my mom stand. He sent a regretful look my way as he pulled my mom's hands behind her back gently and cuffed her. I shakily stood up and turned away so I didn't have to watch my mom leave this way. Rachel stood by the door and covered her mouth with her hand to attempt to control herself. She ran over to me and hugged me tightly.

"I'm so sorry Jack! I didn't mean for mom to get arrested! I just didn't know what to do! This is all my fault!" She cried. I rubbed her back soothingly and placed my head on top of hers.

"Shh, Rach. It's ok. It's not your fault. You had no other choice. Mom should have known better. She's facing the consequences for her own actions." I tried to assure her. The other police officer walked over to us.

"Look kids, I've seen this before. She's going through a rough time and alcohol seemed like the way out. One night in jail and she'll see what's she's done. Especially when she sobers up and we tell her why she's in there. Your mom will be back soon." He said. I nodded my head as he tipped his hat at me and left.

Soon the EMT's, Mr. Crawford and the other officer left, leaving just me, my sister, and a trashed up living room.

This shit was not what I ever expected to happen in my life. I just hoped my mom really was coming home. And I really hoped she'd be coming home sober.

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**Oh man, so much drama. What do you guys think of Matt so far? Does he sound like Kim's perfect guy? Hmm...**

**And what about Jack's mom's break down? Harsh huh?**


	8. Chapter 8 - No Such Thing

**Quick update before I begin the chapter, I am proud to announce that I have just begun writing the first chapter to my newest story, your choice, option B.**

**Although I'm super excited about getting it up for you guys, I am having a little trouble with a title. So here's another contest for you guys...I want you guys to give me your ideas for a title. Either put it in a review or PM me. Your choice. The title I like most will be my official title for the story. For now we'll just call it Wildflower.**

**WARNING - THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS SOME STRONG LANGUAGE. PROCEED WITH CAUTION.**

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**Chapter 8 - There's No Such Thing As Fairy Tales**

**Jack's POV**

I stood in my messed up living room with a giant black trash bag in one hand and gazed sadly over it. My mom had created such a disaster that I didn't know where to start. Rachel sat behind the couch and attempted to scrub the red rum stain out of the white carpet. She occasionally sniffled and wiped at her runny nose, tears still silently falling down her face. What a sight. Two teenage kids cleaning up after their drunk mother tore apart their house.

"Have you gotten a hold of dad yet?" Rachel asked. I sighed and looked down at my phone for any new messages.

"No. I've called him three times and left him ten text messages. I don't think he's going to call back." I replied. I was getting really mad but I was trying to keep my temper in check for Rachel's sake. I think she had suffered enough for one day. I groaned as I bent down to start picking up the ripped paper and stray clumps of stuffing. I was actually pretty amazed at how one woman had enough rage to do this much damage. I guess it was my mom that I got my temper from, not my dad like I had always thought before.

"Does he just not care that mom is in jail right now? Or that she got this drunk? Or that she had a total meltdown?" She threw the sponge she was using down and kicked the leg of the computer desk next to her.

"Rachel, just don't think about that right now. The only thing you need to worry about is that stain. Just work on getting it out and let me worry about mom and dad." I commanded. I wanted her to get her mind off of our parents. She was only fourteen and obviously this kind of situation was ten times too much pressure for a teenage girl. She whipped her head around in my direction and glared at me.

"Not worry about it? How am I supposed to think about anything else? Mom slapped me! She ripped apart everything in this room out of anger towards dad! She could have drank herself to death! This shit is ridiculous!" She shouted. I dropped the trash bag I was currently holding and began walking over to comfort her. I was interrupted by a knock at the door. I groaned at the thought of company. The house obviously looked like crap and my sister was currently an emotional mess. I walked towards the front door and yanked it open readying myself to tell the visitor to go away, but I couldn't find the words to do it once I saw who was standing on the other side.

"Kim? What are you doing here?" I asked her as she stood in front of me, nervously fiddling with her hands. She gazed up at me sympathetically.

"My dad told me what happened. Jack I am so sorry." She said breaking her eye contact with me to look down at the ground. She was doing exactly what I hated for people to do. Give me sympathy and make me feel pathetic. As much as I didn't mind Kim being around, I couldn't have her here at this exact time. I needed to get her to leave but I had to do it in a polite way.

"Look Kim, I appreciate you coming over here to check up on me but I really have to-"

"Kimmy, there you are. I've been looking all over for you." A tall guy with brown hair and a Tennessee sweatshirt on interrupted me as he walked up the walkway towards Kim, placing his hand on her shoulder. Kim rolled her eyes but quickly composed herself and placed a smile upon her face. I could see how forced it was.

"Who's this?" The guy asked Kim as he eyed me cautiously.

"This is Jack. He's the friend I was talking about earlier. Jack, this is Matt. My boyfriend." Kim introduced us. Of course he would be her _boyfriend. _I'm currently dealing with a traumatic situation and Kim's stupid boyfriend has to arrive.

"Friend?" Matt questioned. He definitely sounded doubtful as he continued to stare at me. I could tell he was sizing me up like competition.

"Yes Matt, friend. It is possible for a girl and a guy to be _just _friends." Kim responded. Just friends? Those words hit me like a ton of bricks. I had no idea why just the sight of Matt and hearing that sentence was making my blood boil, but my temper was beginning to flare the longer I stared at his hand on Kim's shoulder. He seemed to notice too because he gave me a small little smirk before he grabbed Kim's hand and intertwined their fingers. Kim gazed up at him confused.

"Look Kim, I think you need to go. I have a lot to figure out right now." I said trying to hide the distaste in my tone. She looked at me with sadness in her eyes.

"Jack I know you're upset but I think if you would just talk to me then we could work through this together. Please?" She pleaded. Matt glared. Apparently Kim offering me a shoulder to lean on wasn't exactly his cup of tea. He released Kim's hand and wrapped his arm protectively around her waist, pulling her close. This ticked me off.

"I think you need to leave Kim. I don't need to hear anymore of your stupid stories about love and all that other fairytale crap."

"But Jack, those stories aren't stupid. They're true and I think you need to just give it a chance."

"No!" I shouted, causing her to flinch. I pushed open the door further revealing my chaotic living room.

"Does this look like love? Does it Kim? No! Because love doesn't fucking exist! Get it through your head! This isn't because my parents lost their way! It's because whatever they had ended! It was all lust! Love is not real and the sooner you figure that out, the better!" I had completely lost my cool now. I couldn't hold it in any longer. Kim looked at me with hurt in her eyes. I knew that I had hit a nerve with her by calling her parent's love story stupid, but she was acting like a lovesick puppy. She was trying to make my parent's dysfunctional marriage look like nothing more than a quick fix. Tears were beginning to form and her bottom lip was quivering. She turned around quickly and walked away, not giving me a second glance. Matt chuckled and shook his head at me.

"Nice job. Now I'll have to comfort her tonight and she'll be extra touchy. Saved me the trouble of kicking your ass too." He winked before turning around to follow Kim. If it was possible to die from being overly pissed off, I'd be laying on the ground right now as dead as roadkill. I squeezed the door knob with all the pressure I could muster up and held myself back from running after the little bitch and knocking his ass out right in my front yard. I stepped back into the house and slammed the front door with all my strength. Rachel stood up from the corner she was sitting in and walked over to where I was standing. She had stopped crying but her face was still red and stained from her makeup.

"This might be totally fucked up for us and we might be dealing with some major shit, but you just made the biggest mistake ever." She said. I rolled my eyes at her.

"Oh shut up Rachel. I did what I had to do. Kim is trying to change me and I'm not about to let some girl that I just met a couple of weeks ago get to me. Look at mom and dad. Perfect example." I replied. Rachel huffed.

"Will you stop being so goddamn dramatic? What happened between mom and dad is their business. It's their relationship. Not everyone ends up like that you dimwit. Kim wasn't trying to change who you are, she was only trying to show you that you shouldn't let our parent's problems control your life. You shouldn't let them ruin your chances of being happy and finding someone. Someone like Kim, you idiot. But you just threw all those chances right out the window by yelling at her like that." She hissed. I sighed.

"Rachel, do you not realize that Kim has a boyfriend? Even if I did want to date and liked her, I still wouldn't stand a chance." I stated. Rachel scoffed.

"You really think Kim is happy with that lug? I watched the entire thing. I'm a girl, I can read her face. She wasn't happy about him being here. She wanted to talk to you and only you. She came over here because she cares. You think if she was really meant to be with that guy that she would have went through the trouble of coming over here and trying to comfort you? No. So you really are a dumb ass." She said as she picked up the trash bag I had set down earlier and began picking up all the broken glass. I watched her curiously. Wasn't she just curled up in a ball in the corner like twenty minutes ago?

"Ok, what gives? Twenty minutes ago you were all distraught and upset and now one visit from Kim and you're happy again?" I asked. She laughed.

"I'm not happy Jack. Mom is still in jail and dad is ignoring us. But seeing Kim come over here to check up on you reminded me that their are people out there capable of loving the right way. You just have to wait for them to come along and then jump at the chance to make them yours when you're given it. I'm willing to wait for that and I believe it's out there. Mom and dad are morons and I'm not letting them set an example for me." She responded. She gave me a small smile before walking out of the room and headed for her bedroom. I stood there alone and pondered over Rachel's words for a few minutes. For a fourteen year old, she sure knew how to speak wiser beyond her years.

Did I really mess up something good? I had spent my entire life blocking out even the slightest possibility of falling for a girl, but then Kim comes along and suddenly I'm acting like a complete and total idiot? It did feel nice to have her come to the house and check on me, I would admit that for sure, and I guess I did get jealous over seeing Matt.

All the signs were pointing to Kim. But the problem was, I wasn't sure if I wanted them to.

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**Short chapter, but I'm leading up to something HUGE. I'm not sure if you all will freak about it or not, but we'll see ;)**

**I usually don't do this but I'd really like to get at least ten reviews before I update again. No biggie if I don't, I'll still post. Also, I'd love more detailed reviews. I do love getting suggestions and hearing your honest opinions. **


	9. Chapter 9 - Kim's Broken Heart

**Well it's a good thing a lot of you wanted to see more drama with Matt because this chapter has loads of it.**

**Keep reviewing and making me happy!**

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**Chapter 9 - Kim's Broken Heart and Jack's Fury**

**Kim's POV**

I opened my eyes to the brightness of the sun that was shining through my window. I groaned and quickly covered my face with my blanket. I didn't even want to be awake. All the words that Jack had yelled at me the previous night were replaying over and over in my head. They had cut through me like a knife. I was trying to be a good friend and help but all I got in return was a huge slap in the face.

I sighed as I threw the covers off my body and slid up into a sitting position. I couldn't be a cry baby about it all day. I pushed myself up from my bed and grabbed one of my pull over sweatshirts to keep myself from getting cold from the morning temperatures. My dad was against keeping the heater on because of the rise in our electricity bill, so I was almost always in warm clothing when I was home. I quickly gathered all my messy hair into my hands and threw it up into a half ass ponytail. I looked in the full length mirror I had propped up against the wall next to my closet and rubbed my eyes. I had the darkest circles ever and I honestly resembled a raccoon. Oh well, who was I trying to impress right now anyways? My dad already knew what a mess I looked like in the morning and Matt had seen me countless times without makeup on. I walked away from the mirror and made my way over to the guest room where Matt was staying. I knocked softly but got no response.

_That's weird..._

I pushed the door open slightly to look in. The bed was empty and there was no sign of Matt at all. I turned around and headed down to the kitchen thinking he was probably making breakfast or sitting in the living room watching tv.

"Matt? Dad? Anybody here?" I asked loudly as I wandered through the house. No one was here. Every room was completely empty, the tv was off, and there were no dirty dishes anywhere.

_Where in the hell are those two? _I wondered as I walked back up to my room. I picked up my phone from my nightstand and dialed Matt's number. He's completely new to Seaford, where could he have possibly gone by himself? I listened for his voice to pick up on the other end but instead I heard the faint sound of his ringtone playing from the other room. I went over to the guest room again and looked around, spotting his phone laying on the desk. I rolled my eyes as I hung my phone up and picked his up.

_1 missed call - Kimmy_

_3 New Messages - Maggie, Megan, Bobby_

My eyes froze on the name Megan. Megan was a girl in our class. We had been friends back in middle school but once we made it to high school she became the biggest bitch ever. I knew she always had a thing for Matt and I knew that he knew it too. So why the hell was she texting him? My curiosity got the best of me. I quickly glanced over my shoulder to make sure I was still alone and then opened the messages. I had expected some skanky message, but it wasn't from the person I had expected.

_Megan - You need to tell Kim what happened. I mean it Matt. Do it before I do._

_Maggie - Mattie, come home soon. I'm lonely ;) You know you have nothing to worry about right? Kim isn't going to find out and it's not like we're doing this out of love for each other. We're just two people having fun. No harm._

You have got to be kidding me. My _best_ friend and my_ boyfriend_? I felt like I was going to throw up. Maggie had been my best friend since I was six and Matt had always been loyal to me. I couldn't be reading this right. This couldn't be happening.

"Kim? Are you up?" I heard Matt's voice echo from downstairs. I panicked. I threw his phone down and turned around just in time. Matt walked through the door and smiled at me.

"Hey baby, what are you doing in here? Looking for me?" He asked. I wanted to smile. I wanted to act like I hadn't just found out about him and Maggie, but my eyes were beginning to betray me. The tears were forming and I didn't think I had it in me to hold them back. He seemed to notice because his smile instantly fell and was replaced with a frown.

"Kimmy, what's wrong?" He stepped closer to me and I backed away. He stopped moving and stared at me worried. I could tell he was confused by the way I was acting, but definitely not as confused as I was in this entire situation.

"What did you do?" I asked through my clenched teeth. I was trying to prevent myself from sobbing.

"What are you talking about Kim? I went to breakfast with your dad." He replied. He looked at me like I was crazy. I shook my head.

"No Matt, what did you do with Maggie? Tell me now or I swear I will fly to Tennessee and get it out of her." I threatened. He still looked confused but once his eyes landed on his phone, it all dawned on him.

"Kim. Listen, it was a mistake. Ok? It was all a mistake. I never meant for it to go this far." He said. That was all I needed to hear before I bolted past him and made a run for the front door. I could hear him yelling for me to stop but it was all too much. I couldn't handle it. Yes, I had been doubting things with Matt since he arrived yesterday and I knew something was off about him, but I was still in love with him. He was still my boyfriend.

I didn't stop or look back. I pushed myself to go faster so I could escape him and all the shit he had just caused. It didn't matter right now that I was wearing nothing but my yoga shorts and my old school sweatshirt. It didn't matter that my neighbors were watching me as I ran past them with my bare feet. My face was stained with tears, my head was throbbing and I was freezing, but I didn't care. I didn't care about anything but the pain that was currently shooting through my heart. The pain caused by the two people I trusted more than anything.

Matt has just taken my love and thrown it away. He had tossed me aside like a piece of trash. Love wasn't supposed to be like this. My heart wasn't supposed to feel like this.

It was broken. I was broken.

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**Jack's POV**

It was the strangest thing I had ever seen. Kim ran right past my house, wearing practically nothing. Matt followed until he reached the end of the street but gave up once she turned the corner. I watched as he stopped running and threw his hands up in the air before bending over and gasping for air.

Normally I would have said that it was none of my business, but this wasn't just anyone fleeing their house and boyfriend in tears, it was Kim. So I did what any concerned friend would do and went to the only source of information I had at the moment, the douche bag.

"Hey, what's wrong with Kim?" I asked as politely as I could as I walked down to the street to meet up with Matt. He turned to glare at me.

"Fuck off." He replied. I scoffed at his nice little response.

"What the hell is your problem? I was just worried about Kim." I said.

"Well she's not your problem! So back off! It's none of your concern!" He shouted. Now it was my turn to glare.

"Seeing as Kim is my friend and she just ran off crying hysterically, plus the fact it being from you, yeah it is my concern. What the hell did you do to her?" I interrogated him as I followed his retreating form. He turned to face me and shoved me back.

"None of your damn business fag! She's my girlfriend, not yours, so get over it!" He was towering over me now but I definitely wasn't afraid of this jackass. I was the one with the black belt. My anger was beginning to rise and I couldn't help but give him a shove back.

"First of all, stay out of my face if you know what's good for you. Second of all, like I said before I'm her friend so that makes it my business and last of all I know she's your girlfriend but you sure as hell don't deserve her if you were the one who just made her cry." I retorted. His face was turning red now and his hands clenched into fists. Oh if he swings, it's on. Suddenly Mr. Crawford was standing between us. He seemed pretty pissed as well.

"Jack I understand your concern for my daughter, but please don't fight. I know you're Kim's friend so the best thing right now is for you to go find her. Please." I nodded my head in understanding. I backed away from Matt. As soon as I was a good distance away, Mr. Crawford turned to face Matt.

"As for you, pack your bags and get your ass to the airport." He commanded. Matt looked at him as if he had grown three heads.

"Mr. Crawford I-" Matt began to speak but Mr. Crawford held his hand up to stop him.

"I heard everything Matt and I don't want some low life cheating scum bag in my house. You hurt my daughter and I don't have the patience to deal with idiots like you. In fact, if I wasn't a cop I'd probably kick your ass all the way back to Tennessee. Now go." He warned. Now I was just plain furious. He cheated on her? He actually cheated on a girl like Kim? Without a second thought I sent my fist flying right over Mr. Crawford's shoulder and into Matt's face. It connected with his jaw and soon he was sprawled out on the sidewalk. He cupped his mouth as blood poured out from his lip. I knew that I had just committed assault, but that was the last thing I cared about. There was only one thing I cared about and I needed to refocus my attention on that now. I quickly spun around and ran in the same direction that Kim had.

I had to find Kim.

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**Well? **


	10. Chapter 10 - Beaches & Confessions

**Hey! So I know I had you all vote for the next story but earlier I was watching this movie, Blue Crush 2 and I began imagining it Kickin' It style. Now I don't know if any of you have seen it but it's pretty amazing and I think it would make a total kick ass story.**

**This would be the basic storyline; Kim Crawford runs away from her father's strict, high status lifestyle in Malibu and departs on an adventure to fulfill her late mother's dream of surfing all the beaches in South Africa. **

**Plenty of adventure, comedy, and of course romance ;)**

**So let me know what you guys think about that and enjoy the latest installment of Waiting For You.**

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**Chapter 10 - Beaches & Confessions**

**Kim's POV**

My face felt like ice. I was beyond freezing at this point but I didn't have enough energy to care. I sat there under the pier and let the ocean breeze blow through my hair and pierce my skin with its bitter coldness. I had cried for hours and I no longer had any water left to fall from my eyes. I was unbelievably shattered at the moment, more shattered than I had ever expected to be over a guy.

What was I supposed to do now? What do people even do when their significant other of two years just decides to cheat on them with their best friend? What do people do when the person they gave their heart to screws them over? I mean come on, what did I do that was so horrible for God to make me feel the pain of having my heart ripped out of my chest, _again._ First my mom and now this. What else could he possibly take from me?

"Kim?" I glanced over my shoulder and saw Jack standing a few feet behind me. Awesome, just what I needed. For him to dump all over my feelings even more.

"What do you want? Come to tell me you told me so?" I asked sarcastically. I heard him sigh.

"No. I came to apologize." He responded as he walked over and sat down next to me. I rolled my eyes.

"Yeah okay, like I'm going to believe that." I whispered.

"Why wouldn't you? It's the truth. Look Kim, I know what happened with Matt. Your dad told me when he sent him packing. I'm sorry that happened, I really am. I'm even more sorry for dumping on you about love. I shouldn't have yelled at you when all you were trying to do was help and it wasn't cool to tell you that something you believe in is stupid."

"_Believed_ in. Past tense." I quickly corrected him bitterly. I could feel his stare on me intensify.

"What do you mean past tense? You're going to tell me that just because of his dumbass choices you're going to drop everything you believe in? Kim you can't base your life on that guy."

"Why not? That's what you do!" I yelled. Jack looked taken aback for a second but quickly composed himself.

"That's different." He said as he began playing with the sand between his legs. I felt my anger boil even more. I pushed myself off the ground and stood up kicking some sand in the process.

"Are you kidding me? How is it different Jack? How? You're such a fucking hypocrite! Nothing is different! Just because your parents don't work out you give up! My boyfriend cheated on me, with my best friend! I gave him everything and I get hurt in the process! Why do you get to give up but I can't?" I shouted. I could feel the heat in my face get stronger by the second. Jack sat there speechless. I actually felt kinda guilty for a minute until I remembered how much of a hypocrite he was being. I huffed as I crossed my arms and spun around to face the beach. Running into the water seemed like a pretty good idea given the current situation. I took a few deep breaths and attempted to calm myself down.

"Because I haven't given up." Jack's soft voice suddenly filled the air. I turned my head and looked down at him.

"What did you say?" I demanded. Jack stood up and took a few steps closer to me.

"I said I haven't given up. I thought I had but to be honest I'm not so sure anymore." He said. This only pissed me off even more.

"Oh don't give me that bullshit. You've been so determined to block me out and every other girl for that matter, so don't give me that whole 'I've changed my mind' bit. Not now. It's not going to work on me." I hissed. He just stood there in silence and continued to stare at me. It was annoying me but at the same time his eyes were pulling me into forgiveness. I shook my head and broke our gaze. I began walking away but Jack grabbed a hold of my arm and pulled me back. My body crashed into his and he held me in place against his chest. I pushed and pulled to try and get out of his grasp but soon the aroma of dark chocolate axe cologne gained my attention and I stopped. He smelled so good, so different from Matt.

"Kim, please just listen to me. Ever since you got here I've been debating with myself on whether or not I actually liked you. You're so different from other girls and you've made me feel something I've never felt before. You confuse the hell out of me and irritate me to no end, but I actually kinda like it. You're a mystery to me but at the same time I feel like I can read you like an open book. I've come to the conclusion that I do like you. I like you Kim and you make me not want to give up." He loosened his grip on me enough so that I could look at him.

"You like me?" I asked. He nodded.

"I've wanted to ask you out on a date for awhile now but when Matt came to town I thought I had lost my chance for good. Now I have all this drama with my parents and I don't think dating would work out too well. I do want to take you out sometime though, if you're willing to wait a bit until I get some things sorted out." He said as he completely released me. I felt the corner of my lips turn up slightly.

"Sure, I can wait." I assured him. He smiled.

"Well then, I think it's time I get you back to your dad now. He's been worried about you. Shall we?" He held out his hand for me and I gladly took it with mine. He pulled me closer to his side as we began walking back up to the road, his body radiating a comfortable warmth. This odd feeling in the pit of my stomach made me smile wide as he squeezed my hand tighter and playfully bumped into me. There was something delightfully strange about being near Jack and I could honestly say that everything that happened earlier that day with Matt had completely disappeared from my mind. Why so suddenly?

Because Jack Brewer liked me.

"Did I mention I may have punched that tool in the face?"

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**Okay guys, sorry the chapter is so short but I needed to do something since you guys were getting so antsy about an update haha. Let me know how you guys are liking Jack and Kim's relationship so far.**


	11. Chapter 11 - Kim's Crazy Plan

**Hi guys, I'm back with another chapter :)**

**First things first though I have a little I'd like to say...**

**Thank you to a guest reviewer, I believe your name was CallieCat, for informing me about the person who decided to copy and paste all of my chapters for this story word for word and claim it as her own on another website. As soon as I got your message, I took care of the situation very quickly and I believe this imposter took it down.**

**Now guys, I'm really flattered that all of you like my story so much. I appreciate all of the reviews and feedback, I really do. There is a line between admiration and impersonation though. If any of you like something from my story so much that you would like to loosely base yours off of, then let me know and I'd be totally cool with it. What I'm not cool with is someone completely ripping me off and claiming my work as theirs. That is called plagiarism guys, it's stealing and I could have easily sued this person for it if I had really felt like getting a lawyer. I'm not saying all of you would do that, I'm just saying that this person really pissed me off by doing this and the fact that she was having people tell her how great it was made it even worse. I'm thankful I have honest, faithful readers who let me know about this kind of stuff. So thanks again. **

**Also, there's a bit of a time skip since last chapter because I didn't know how to fill the time gap in.**

**Love you all. XO**

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**Chapter 11 - Kim's Crazy Plan & The New Crawford**

**Kim's POV**

Today was the first rainy day Seaford had experienced since I first moved here over two months ago. I was used to the sun constantly shining and having my shorts and tank tops laying all over the place ready for me to just throw on. Now I was wearing sweats, a sweatshirt I had stole from Jack one day at the dojo, and I was sitting on the couch covered in a giant comforter. Man when it rained in Seaford, it rained. It was freezing too. Still nothing compared to a Tennessee storm, but I had gotten used to the warmer weather and now mother nature was smacking me in the face with this.

"Jeez, California sure knows how to storm like crazy when it wants to doesn't it?" My dad asked as he walked into the living room from the kitchen and turned the thermostat up. I readjusted the blanket and tried to snuggle with the couch pillows but it only became more uncomfortable for me. I groaned as I threw the pillow across the room.

"Dad this is crazy. Are you sure that thermostat even works? It feels like twenty degrees in here." I complained. My dad chuckled as he sat down on the other end of the couch.

"Sorry Kimmy but this is an old house. Just give it time to kick in." He said as he picked up the remote and changed the channel.

"Hey! 90210 was coming on!" I whined.

"Exactly why I changed it." He replied. I rolled my eyes at the cop show he had changed it to.

"I am not watching this ridiculous show. Change it back." I demanded as I made a grab for the remote. My dad quickly pulled it out of my reach.

"No. Why aren't you with Jack or the guys?" He asked, tossing the remote to the chair on the other side of the room knowing I was way too lazy to get up and get it.

"Jack is visiting his mom and the guys canceled practice because they didn't want to go out in the rain. Wimps, I know." I answered. My dad's playful demeanor dropped.

"So his dad still hasn't gotten her out?" He asked referring to Jack's parents. I sighed and shook my head.

"He decided to press charges against her for slapping Rachel. According to Jack, he said that it would do her some good sitting in there and maybe get her to calm down. Isn't that total bullshit? How is she supposed to relax in jail? All Jack wants is his mom home. He doesn't even care about them divorcing anymore." I explained.

"Well, she did assault one of their children and I think he's just angry right now about how she took their separation. Everything is going to get better sooner or later. He's going to drop the charges soon and Jack will get his mom back. He just needs to be patient and focus on other things. How are you guys doing?"

I shifted uncomfortably again. It was always awkward talking about relationship stuff with my dad. He was my _father_ after all. I remember being forced to listen to him give me the sex talk. That will be a memory I'll never be able to get rid of.

"We're just friends dad. He's going through a tough time and I don't want to add anymore stress in his life. Imagine how his mom would react when she comes home to find out her only son got a girlfriend while she was behind bars. It would not go over well. I'm fine with waiting."

Ok, so maybe that wasn't completely true. It had already been a month since his confession on the beach and although we were hanging out more and constantly talking, I wanted him to ask me out. I loved having Jack as a friend but I knew I was going to love it even more being his girlfriend. I just wanted some kind of sign that we were going to move forward eventually, but so far, I got nothing.

I think my dad could see how uneasy this entire conversation was making me because he smiled and rubbed his hands together.

"Ok kiddo, here's the real reason why I'm sitting here bugging you right now. I have a surprise." He said as he stood up and walked back into the kitchen. I rose an eyebrow curiously.

"What kind of surprise?" I questioned cautiously. I heard some faint shuffling and the sound of metal clanging together. I grew even more curious and I decided to throw the covers off and force myself to get up so I could check out this surprise. I slowly crept towards the kitchen and peered around the corner. I looked down towards the ground and noticed a small carrying crate. My dad stood next to it and in his arms was a small yellow lab puppy with a blue ribbon tied around its neck in a bow.

"You got me a dog?!" I screamed. I immediately ran and snatched him from my dad's hands. He barked and began licking my face and I couldn't help but giggle.

"Got him from the shelter yesterday. I know you've been feeling lost without Butterscotch so I thought I could get you a new buddy. He's no horse, but he's something."

"Thank you so much! I love him. I already know his name too. It's Shorty." I cooed at my new puppy. My dad laughed as he left the room. I cradled Shorty in one arm and reached in my pocket for my phone. I had to tell Jack.

**To: Jack :)**

**Guess what! My dad got me a puppy! :D**

I set my phone down on the counter and continued to play with Shorty. He was unbelievably playful and I knew he was going to be the best cuddle buddy from how soft his fur was. I set him down on the floor and let him run around in circles chasing his tail. I laughed at his silliness. My phone beeped distracting my attention from my new buddy for a second.

**From: Jack :)**

**That's great! I'll come by and see him tomorrow. But meet me and the guys at the dojo. Eddie is having one of his "emergencies".**

I sighed and gazed down at Shorty. He was now wagging his tail at me and letting his tongue fall from his mouth. It was so adorable, my heart was melting.

"I'm sorry Shorty but the guys are calling me. I'll be right back." I reluctantly told him as I ran out of the kitchen and grabbed my sweatshirt from the computer desk. I quickly pulled it over myself before grabbing my phone, patting Shorty one last time and making a run for it through the pouring rain. I probably could have just asked my dad for a ride, but I never take the easy way out.

It took me a little over ten minutes before I arrived at the mall. I stripped off my soaked sweatshirt as I entered the building and began making my way down to the dojo. I swear, if this "emergency" turns into some stupid ploy to get money for Falafel, I was going to kill Eddie. I couldn't remember a time when one of his "emergencies" was an actual crisis.

I finally arrived at the dojo and I peered in through the front window to see Jack, Jerry and Milton sitting on the benches while a frantic Eddie paces back and forth in front of them, flailing his arms around. Now as passionate Eddie was about food, I had never seen him act like this before over a hotdog. I groaned as I pushed the dojo doors open and the bell went off, signaling my presence. The guys immediately turned their heads towards me.

"There you are!" Eddie shouted as he quickly walked over to me and grabbed ahold of my arm, dragging me over to the bench.

"Whoa, where's the fire?" I asked as I yanked my arm from his grasp. I looked down at the guys for some answers and I received numerous eye rolls and shrugs.

"Eddie is losing his mind over something Donna said about us. Apparently we're pathetic losers who have nothing better to do than run around in our pajamas all day throwing punches at each other." Milton said. I looked up at Eddie incredulously.

"_That _is what you're upset about? It's Donna. Who gives a flying monkey what she thinks?"

"I do! All she does is put everybody down and I'm sick of hearing her stupid jokes about my weight and braces." Eddie yelled.

"What do you want us to do Eddie? We can't exactly take down the queen bee of Seaford High just by telling her to stop." Jerry replied.

"Yeah, she's not going to listen to any of us. She's a psycho." Jack added.

"Then we need to do something to show her up! We have to prove that we're not losers!" Eddie demanded. I sighed. Eddie was actually taking this to heart, so much that he was coming off a little desperate. As much as I didn't care about Donna or her superficial opinion, I was just one of those people who was a sucker for their friends and right now one of my friends needed help. Plus, I really just wanted to get this over with and so I could go home to my puppy. So, I said the first thing that popped into my mind.

"Let's throw a party." I suggested. It suddenly became so quiet in the dojo that you could hear a pin drop. All the guys looked at me like I was some kind of monster with four heads.

"Why are you all staring at me like that?" I asked awkwardly.

"A party? This is Seaford Kim, no one throws parties here." Milton informed me. I smiled.

"That's exactly my point Milton. No one here has ever thrown a party, not even Donna. If we're the first ones to do it, then we're the cool ones. Get it?"

The guys looked unsure of the entire idea but it wasn't long before Jerry's face lit up.

"That sounds like total swag yo! But where will we throw it?"

"My house. My dad is going back to Tennessee next weekend for a work thing so I'll have the house to myself." I said. Milton stood up.

"I don't know about this Kim. As much as I would enjoy not getting picked on anymore, I'm not into alcohol and I have a perfect record. If we got caught, this would blow up in our faces." He stated. I chuckled at his serious tone.

"Milton relax. Back in Tennessee I threw tons of parties. I've never been caught. You don't have to drink alcohol, it's not mandatory. If it eases your mind, just think of it as a gathering of the student body. Trust me." I placed my hand on his shoulder and smiled reassuringly at him. He gazed at me questionably but a small grin soon made its way onto his face.

"You are quite the devious one miss Crawford." He teased. I shrugged.

"I know. So what do you say guys?" I asked as I turned to face the rest of the guys.

"Ah what the heck, Wasabi on three." Jack commanded as he put his hand in between all of us. We all quickly followed and placed our hands on each other's.

"One, two, three, WASABI!"

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**Oh my, sorry this took so long to get up guys. I'm a college student, remember that, so I'm a fairly busy person. Anyways, hope this was okay. I know it was random and all over the place but I had to do something. I'm not one to discontinue my stories.**

**Review :)**


	12. AUTHOR

I** know guys, I'm horrible for not updating sooner. I've gotten so many PM's and reviews asking me to update and I meant to do it earlier but I've had so much to do.**

**There are two reviews I would like to address directly though. I understand that you guys are upset with me for taking so long and I love that you like my story so much that you want to read more, but threatening to stop being a "fan" is not going to get me to write any faster. In fact, it makes me want to write less. Also, to HATERxxx, I'm sorry that you "hate people like me" but honestly I'm in college and I work at the same time. On top of that I have an actual social life that I try really hard to keep. So excuse me for not making a fictional story a main priority at the moment. Take a chill pill and freaking relax.**

**I'm actually having terrible writer's block at the moment and I figured you guys would be the best to help. I didn't know if I wanted to jump straight to the party or put something else in between. Sooo, review me with your ideas or PM me and as soon as an idea inspires me, I'll have a new chapter up.**

**I know, you all were expecting a better update and I'm sorry. But I have all summer since my classes are done for now so I promise I'll be writing a lot more.**

**Just help me this once! :)**

**XO, Amandamandaxoxo.**


	13. Chapter 12 - The Party

**Hey guys! So sorry for the wait but I have to warn you that this might not be the greatest chapter. Enjoy anyways **

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**Chapter 12 - The Party**

**Kim's POV**

"Kimmy, come out already! I wanna see the dress!" Grace whined from the other side of the curtain in the dressing room. I rolled my eyes as I looked myself over one last time. I was wearing a short, form fitting strapless black dress with diamond cut outs on the side. While I had to admit I looked hot, I couldn't help but start to think I was reaching the line of 'overboard'.

"Kimberly Riley Norma Crawford, if you aren't out here in three seconds, I'm coming in to drag you out by your hair!" Grace shouted again. I groaned before shoving the long white curtain to the side and stepping out in nothing but the dress and my bare feet.

"Okay Grace, I'm out now. What's the verdict?" I asked as I opened my arms and spun around once. Once I stopped Grace's face immediately lit up and she clapped her hands together excitedly.

"That's perfect! I've never seen anyone in this town look so damn hot! Jacks gonna flip when he sees you tonight!" She squealed. I giggled at her outburst.

"Are you sure this is okay? I mean I feel like I'm a little overdressed." I said as I turned to look at myself in the mirror again.

"Are you kidding? Do you see how amazing your ta-tas look right now?" She replied as she ran up behind me and spun me around to face her.

"Look, I know you're from Tennessee and you guys dress a little differently over there, but this dress is the definition of a California party and guess what honey? You're in California. Don't worry about it, every girl is going to be dressed to kill. Now, let's pay for this baby and get out butts home!" She quickly pushed me back into the changing room and shoved my normal clothes into my hands.

"I'll be right back, I'm going to get the dress I saw earlier that I liked." She said as she took off running in the opposite direction, leaving me to change by myself. I slipped the little black dress off and put my light blue crop top and black skinny jeans back on. I slid my feet into my black flats, grabbed the dress and picked up my bag before making my way over to the checkout counter where Grace was waiting impatiently with her dress choice. I shook my head at her as I placed mine on the counter with hers.

"Okay ladies, that'll be $130.65." The sales lady excitedly announced as she began bagging our dresses. I stared wide eyed at Grace while she dug in her purse for her wallet and slapped a hundred dollar bill and a fifty down on the counter.

"I thought you said mine was on the clearance rack!" I practically screamed.

"It was. It was on clearance for $64. Considering the dress is normally $180, I figured it was a good deal." She shrugged as she took the change from the woman and handed my bag to me. I angrily snatched my bag and quickly headed for the door, Grace trailing close behind.

"Where's the fire Kimberly?" She asked jokingly.

"Grace, you're insane. I had $30 to spend on a dress. I told you that was my limit and you went way over it! Not to mention you paid for both!" I exclaimed.

"Kim does it really matter? With $30 you were never going to find a dress that perfect. Jack is going to go crazy over it and I think that's all that really matters. Besides, I have tons of money. Now can you drop the attitude and get us home so I can work my magic on that pretty little face of yours?"

I stopped walking and crossed my arms. I was stubborn as hell, but the idea of being with Jack subdued me. Grace smiled triumphantly, tossed her bag over her shoulder and walked ahead of me towards the car.

"Come on Kimmy, there is work to be done!"

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**Jack's POV**

I stood in my bedroom and stared at myself in the mirror. Tonight was the party and Jerry had been helping me look as good as I could for Kim. I had promised myself that tonight was the night I was finally going to ask her out. I just hadn't figured out how to yet.

"Dude, Grace texted me and said she and Kim got bomb ass dresses for tonight. Do you know how long that chicka's legs are?" Jerry wondered dreamily. I snorted.

"Man if you're so into Grace, why haven't you asked her out yet?" I asked as I slipped on my black leather jacket over my green and blue plaid shirt.

"Good question man, I could ask you the same thing." He replied. I rolled my eyes. The guys had bugged me nonstop for weeks about asking Kim out. According to them I was finally seeing the light. Plus, they adored Kim and were extremely happy that she was the girl that was making me see things differently.

"So how do you think Kim is gonna pull off this whole getting alcohol thing? I mean isn't the drinking age 21?" Jerry asked as he finished combing his hair and spraying his cologne.

"I have no idea. She just said it's an old trick and that the kids in Tennessee used to do it all the time." I answered. He shrugged and then looked at his phone.

"Party time bro! Leggo!" He shouted as he grabbed his jacket off the back of my chair and shoved his phone into his pocket. I quickly ran my fingers through my hair and tugged on my jacket one last time.

"Alright, let's go." I followed Jerry down the stairs and out the front door. Once we were outside we could see all the kids from Seaford High starting to cram into Kim's house.

"Looks like everyone is in on this." Jerry said as we continued to walk across the lawn to the house. We reached the house and pushed past all the guys and girls that were crowding the front door. Music was blaring from the DJ booth that Eddie had borrowed from his cousin and people were already beginning to dance. It was even beginning to reek like alcohol. I scanned the room for Kim and Grace but I couldn't see any signs of either of them.

"I don't see Kim or Grace." I announced to Jerry as he looked around hopelessly.

"Well then turn around." I heard a voice say from behind me. I did as I was told and was pleasantly surprised to find Kim dressed in a very short, tight black dress with strappy black wedges and her blonde hair waved to perfection.

"Wow, you look beautiful." I said. She blushed as she pushed a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Thank you. You look pretty good too." She smiled.

"Hey Kim." Brody walked over to us and placed his hand on Kim's back. My blood boiled. I know we weren't dating yet, but it didn't mean I couldn't get jealous from another guy wanting her too. I averted my eyes away quickly and shoved my fists into my pockets so that Kim wouldn't see.

"Hey Brody." She replied.

"You look great tonight Kim. Do you wanna dance?" Brody asked. He held out his hand to her and waited for her to accept his offer. Kim smiled for a second at him and then gazed over at me.

"I appreciate the gesture Brody, but I actually wanted to talk to Jack. Maybe some other time." Brody glanced over at me and sized me up, maybe contemplating on whether or not I was real competition, before he nodded at Kim and walked away. I let out the breath I was holding and silently thanked God for not ruining my night just yet.

"So would you like to dance with me then?" I asked her. She giggled as she grabbed my hand and led me out to the middle of her living room where everyone else was dancing too. Eddie must have took notice of us because a slow song suddenly began. Kim placed her arms over my shoulders and I grabbed her waist. We swayed back and forth to the music.

"You know Kim, you really do look really good tonight. I like the dress." I nervously complimented her.

"Well thank you. Grace picked the dress out though." She laughed. She pulled herself closer to me and laid her head on my shoulder. Now I was completely intoxicated by her scent, a mix of vanilla and roses. Everything about this girl was amazing and I was still hadn't asked her out.

"Jack, can I ask you something?" She whispered into my shoulder.

"Anything." I replied. She lifted her head and looked up at me, a little sadness appearing in her eyes.

"Why haven't you asked me out yet?" She asked. Now I was feeling kind of bad. The look on her face was enough to tell me that I was taking way too long. I was starting to make her feel like I wasn't serious about asking her out before.

"Kim I've wanted to, I just…"

"KIMMMMM!" A shrill voice screamed through the house. Everyone stopped dancing and Eddie cut the music. Kim and I broke apart and looked around in search of the owner of the voice. Soon, Donna Tobin came stomping through the crowd towards us. She stumbled a little before stopping a foot away from Kim.

"Can I help you?" Kim asked annoyed. Donna rolled her eyes at her and stuck her finger in her face.

"You! You are such a hussy!" She screamed. Everyone gasped and looked completely surprised by Donna's outburst, but Kim just stood there with the same bored expression on her face.

"And why is that? Because I put together something you couldn't?" She taunted Donna. Donna's face grew red.

"How dare you come into this town and try to take my place! You're in California now bitch, not some hillbilly town in Tennessee! And you're a liar! Your little friend Maggie told me everything. The parties, the drinking, the drugs, the sex. Everything. Everything you probably didn't tell Jack." Donna crossed her arms and smirked in victory. Kim laughed.

"Maggie told you this? Well, if Maggie, the girl who I've been feuding with since I found out she slept with my boyfriend, told you this then it must be true." She said sarcastically. Donna narrowed her eyes.

"So are you denying it? Do you not have a fake ID to get alcohol?" She asked. Kim sighed. Wait, she sighed? What did that mean? That it was true? That everything was true? Kim stepped closer to Donna and leaned closer towards her face.

"I'm not denying or agreeing with anything you just accused me of because frankly, it's none of your damn business, or Maggie's, or anyone else in this room. You're only starting this because of what I have with Jack and what you don't. Everyone else here is enjoying themselves."

"So it's none of Jack's business either that the girl he's getting involved with is a total whore?" Donna sneered. Now I was angry. I opened my mouth to defend Kim but she beat me to it.

"If Jack wants to know anything about me, he can ask and I will happily tell him. As for me being a whore, I'd like to know what your definition of that is because right now the only whore I see is standing right in front of me." She turned towards me and grabbed my hand and began to pull me away with her, but Donna quickly stepped in front of us.

"Oh no Crawford, you aren't getting away that easily." She said. Kim dropped my hand and shoved Donna back.

"Stay out of my way Donna. Seriously, you hate the fact that I'm with Jack that much that you went as far as to look up my old friends from Tennessee just to try and dig some dirt up on me? You're pathetic. Jack doesn't want you and by doing this you just proved how much of a physco you really are. So do us all a favor and get your obsessive, stalker ass out of my house!" By now everyone was laughing at a very embarrassed Donna. Hell, I hated drama but even I was.

"Or how about everyone gets the hell out of my house." A loud voice boomed. I quickly spun around to face the front door. There stood a very angry Mr. Crawford. I glanced over at Kim who stood there frozen with a terrified look spread across her face.

"Hi daddy."

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**Wow, you guys, that TOTALLY SUCKED. But I had to write something for you all and I honestly still wasn't sure how this was going to go. Review though, let me know how you feel about the confrontation between Donna and Kim and Kim's dad showing up.**


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